Death is Only the Beginning
by Amoral Philosopher
Summary: The Shiki Fuujin. It was a jutsu meant to seal away the soul of the Kyuubi no Kitsune inside that of a newborn baby. It worked…kinda.
1. Chapter 1

**Rating: **M (for violence, gore, explicit adult situations, and other things those under 18 years of age should not be reading)

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or Rosario Vampire in any way and I am making no profit off of this story, so don't try to sue me…I'm a poor college student.

**Summary:** The Shiki Fuujin. It was a jutsu meant to seal away the soul of the Kyuubi no Kitsune inside that of a newborn baby. It worked…kinda. This is a Naruto/Rosario Vampire Crossover.

**A/N:** New story, new crossover. This fic will take place almost entirely in the Rosario Vampire universe. There may be a small arc halfway through dealing with Naruto's last remaining ties to Konoha, but that will be it. The main character will of course be Naruto, but expect to see Tsukune a lot also. This fic was heavily inspired between two of "lord of the land of fire" stories. "The True Monster" and "The Tempered Heart". Check them out, they're awesome.

**Death is only the beginning**

**Sixteen Years Ago**

_The village was in flames; everywhere around him bodies of the dead littered the streets. They were his friends, comrades, those he had sworn to protect. And he had failed them. The pure unrelenting might of the supernatural entity laying waste to their home seemed too impossible to overcome. They sent wave after wave of shinobi against the monster, but with each assault…their efforts proved useless. There was only one option left to them now, one single ray of hope. But with it came a price..._

_Leaping from rooftop to rooftop, the golden-haired man rushed toward the source of the destruction. In his arms lay a small newborn baby boy, his very own child. He had only moments ago left the central hospital where he had watched his wife give birth to their son and held her hand as she quietly passed away into death's eternal slumber. Tears flowed from the man's cerulean blue orbs remembering the serene smile on her face as she held their son for the last time. Though it was no surprise that she did not survive the delivery, the hurt remained just the same. They had known for weeks prior what would happen. His wife had already been dying slowly for over a year due to a fatally chronic illness that not even the village's most revered medic-nin could cure. As he ran he tried focusing on all the good times the two had shared, but the recency of her death was still too strong to drive away the deep feelings of loss he now felt in his heart._

_Looking down at the child in his arms, the ach in his chest grew. Why was his family cursed so? Not only had he just loss his wife, but he was now forced to use his own son to save the village he loved. It wasn't fair! Oh how he hopped his little boy would be able to forgive him for what he was about to do. He just wished he could be around to ask for it._

_Unfortunately, he knew that was not possible. Soon he would be forced to make his own sacrifice. Thinking about all that he would miss, not seeing his son grow, only made the tears fall faster. He loved his baby boy and hoped the villagers would see his child as the hero he would soon become for taking on the coming burden._

_With one last leap he landed onto a giant red toad's head alongside two other men, one with white hair, the other grey. In front of them stood a colossal demon of rage and untold fury, the legendary Kyuubi no Kitsune._

_The white haired shinobi looked at the blond man in sadness as he clearly saw the distraught look upon his face. "Minato. Kushina, did she…"_

"_No," the young man cut off, unable to allow himself to hear the words. "She didn't."_

"_I'm sorry my boy," the eldest amongst them spoke softly, "it seems it is always the youngest amongst us who must suffer the most."_

_Knowing they didn't have time for condolences, Minato set his face into a determined grimace. With every second they wasted more shinobi were being slaughtered. It had to end._

"_Thank you for the words of comfort Sarutobi-sama, but time is of the essence. We can not allow ourselves to grieve now." Preparing himself, he handed over his child to his former sensei. This was their last chance. "Once I begin the Shiki Fuujin, I will not be able to stop. I need you to protect me and my son until it is complete. Once it is finished I will channel the Shinigami through my own body and rip out the soul of the Kyuubi, sealing it away into Naruto. After it is done I will not have much time left. I will then need to draw the Hakke no Fuuin Shiki onto him to stabilize his body. When it is over, the Shinigami will claim my soul in payment. I need you two to make sure my boy is safe after I am gone." Here the blond man's voice cracked in a burst of sorrow and uncertainty. "I-I fear that the village may not understand what I am about to do. The taint of the Kyuubi will forever be with him and I can see it possible that the villagers will not comprehend what he shall become. They may not see the sacrifice he is becoming and in the end may use him as an object to place their anger over the loss of this day. I hope I am wrong, but…but I can not seem to shake these thoughts." Looking over at his child once more, he could not stop the tears that resumed to flow despite the brave face he tried to show. Not only had his baby lost his mother, but soon he would lose his father too. Minato knew the loneliness of growing up an orphan and now he was condemning his own son to the same fate. Yes, his family truly was cursed._

_As Sarutobi watched the man he had come to consider a member of his family say goodbye to his son for the last time, he forcefully came to a decision. Reaching out, he grabbed hold of the blonde's shoulder putting a halt to his actions before he could begin the suicidal technique._

"_Sarutobi-sama, what…"_

"_No, Minato-kun. I can not allow you to go through with this."_

_The younger man and white haired shinobi both looked at the elder in equal surprise and confusion._

"_What are you talking about sensei?" asked the older of the two. "You can't actually be suggesting that we let the village be destroyed? You know I hate this plan as much, if not more so, than even you, but we have no choice. We can not let everyone die here if there is something to be done!"_

"_No, Jiraiya; that is not what this is about. The village shall be saved, but I will not let it be at the cost of Minato's life."_

_Suddenly realization dawned upon the blond haired man at what Sarutobi had planned. The Sandaime and his sensei had been the only other two people to help in the creation of the Shiki Fuujin._

"_No! Absolutely not! This is not your responsibility anymore Hizuren!" he exclaimed, completely disregarding the use of honorifics. "I am the Hokage now. You served the village long enough. It is now me that the duty of protecting our home now falls. If anyone is going to have to sacrifice their life to defeat this beast, it must be me. I can not ask you of this!"_

_The old man was touched by his successor's sense of duty. He knew he made the right choice when appointing him as the Yondaime. "Minato, I have lived a long and full life. The future is for the young like yourself. Following this day the village will need your leadership to rebuild. It is up to you to make sure the leaf returns to its former glory. Besides," he smiled looking at the newborn infant, "your primary responsibility now is the raising of your son. He has already lost his mother; he need not lose his father too."_

"_Sensei, are you sure?" asked Jiraiya sadly, already knowing the answer. While he did not want to witness his former student die, he also held no desire to see the death of a man he considered a father._

"_Yes."_

"_But…" Minato tried to interject, but was cut off by the white haired toad sage._

"_Let it be Minato. Sarutobi has made his decision. Let him make this last sacrifice for the village. He is right, your responsibility now is to little Naruto here. You wanted to make sure he would be safe, well; there is no better man for the job than yourself. Please, just let the old man do this."_

_The reigning Hokage seemed to stand there in silence and torment for a full minute before he finally relented in defeat. His shoulders sagged and his head dropped. "As you wish Sarutobi-sama."_

_And like that, the rest was history._

* * *

"…You are…the two students enrolling at Youkai academy?"

The bus driver's words snapped Naruto out of his reverie as he sat in the moving yellow bus, vacantly looking out at the passing countryside through one of the many windows. The other passenger sitting behind him also seemed to startle from of his internal thoughts.

"Uh, ya…" they both answered distractedly as the bus headed into a dark tunnel.

"In that case, you had best prepare yourselves now," the bus driver laughed creepily. "When we come out of this looooong tunnel, we'll be right in front of the school. Youkai Academy is a…veeerrry horrifying place." When the man looked back at them, his eyes seemed to glow an eerie yellow within the dark.

"Whatever," the blond teen responded, not really caring what the driver had to say. He had already been told what kind of school he was going to and what to expect.

* * *

**Two Weeks Ago**

Staring down at his father, Naruto could not help but feel anger at the injustice of it all. The man who lay before him had once been one of the most powerful shinobi to ever live. The irony was not lost upon the younger man that after years of missions, and even a war, the Yondaime was now going to die because of a simple disease. Well, maybe not so simple. Whatever his father was dying from was so rare and unidentifiable, that even the renowned medic expert of Konohagakure, Senju Tsunade, was unable to find a cure. The woman was actually taking it rather personally, finding it as yet another of her failures after being unable to save the Hokage's wife years earlier.

Thinking back on what his father often said about their family being cursed, Naruto couldn't help but agree. What were the odds that he would lose not one, but both parents to a seemingly incurable disease? He really felt like beating the shit out of something right then.

At the same time, though, Naruto was actually more than a little curious as to why his father had summoned him so suddenly, especially considering he had only just returned from a black ops mission with his ANBU squad minutes ago. He really should have been giving his mission report to the council at that moment, but the messenger had said it was urgent. And so, there he was in the Hokage's hospital suite.

"Na-Naruto…come closer. I have something I must give you." The blonde haired Yondaime's words were almost a whisper, they were so weak. His skin had taken on a sickly pale complexion during his illness, and his eyes had almost completely lost the shinning vibrancy they once held. He looked as if he was already halfway at death's door.

"What is it Otou-san?"

Reaching into his hospital gown, Minato pulled out a sealed envelope bearing the official Hokage crest before handing it to his son. Even such a simple action as that seemed to put a strain on his deteriorated frame. His hand shook as Naruto took the enclosed paper.

"J-just open it."

Not having anything to say to that, the younger blonde did as told. Breaking the seal, he pulled out a white form. As he read what it was, a sense on confusion and hurt enveloped his entire being.

"I'm being…discharged?" Naruto asked uncertainly. "Why? What did I do?"

The bedridden man smiled.

"Nothing, my son. You have been everything a loyal shinobi of this village should strive to be. As you can see, you are being given an _honorable_ discharge from the shinobi corps. You have served your village well and are now being relinquished from its service."

"But I'm only sixteen!" The young man exclaimed. "I have years worth of fight left in me. I can still serve!" It just didn't make any sense. Even retired shinobi were not discharged from the corps; they were merely put on the reserve list for times when they may be needed once more. For a ninja to be discharged was almost unheard of.

"I am well aware of that." Minato chuckled softly. "You could probably stand against any other shinobi in this village, maybe even myself in my prime, but Tsunade has recently given me some grave news while you have been away."

Hearing his father say that brought forth a sudden jolt of dread that rushed through Naruto's entire body. He almost couldn't even ask the man to clarify what he meant, his fear was so strong.

"What…What do you mean Tou-san?" His voice cracked from the onslaught of emotion.

"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun, but I have been informed that my condition has accelerated. I do not have long left. Tsunade says that I may have a week at most."

Fighting back tears, Naruto pushed on. "But-but what does that have to do with my discharge?"

Minato let forth a tired sigh. "Unfortunately, I have been unable to convince Tsunade to accept my nomination as the Godaime and the council has refused to even consider Jiraiya for the position. From what I have gathered, it looks like after I am gone the village elders plan to make Danzou the new Hokage."

"What!? But that old man is nothing but power hungry fossil set on turning Konoha into another Kirigakure!"

"I know," the Hokage grimaced, knowing full well of The Bloody Mist's reputation. "And that is half the reason why I am having you discharged from the military. The other, though," he paused, releasing a sigh, "is that I fear for your safety once I am gone."

Naruto 'pffted' in forced mock exasperation at his father's overprotective nature showing its head once again. It was a reoccurring thing he had had to deal with many times growing up. Ironic that it would be one of the things he would miss most.

"Come on Tou-san, even as Hokage you are not able to protect me while I am away on missions. You have been training me to take care of myself ever since I can remember. Even after you are," he choked at his words, "gone. I will be more than capable to defend myself."

"Yes, my son, but I am not referring to outside threats." Here the slowly dying Minato paused. "I don't know what you may think, but I am neither blind to the way the villagers look at you nor deaf to their whispers. I am sorry to admit, but despite my best efforts and reassurances, they still see you as nothing more than the Kyuubi itself. You are well known amongst the older shinobi as the demon of the leaf and even the younger generation, who do not know of your secret, still slightly fear you based on the attitudes and actions of their parents or superiors. Once I am gone, I am afraid of what measures the village may take against you."

Hearing his father finally address the issue of the village's thoughts of him, Naruto could not hold back the feelings of loathing. Not towards the villagers, but of himself. The young Namikaze heir knew what he was, and the citizens of Konoha were right. He was a demon through and through. His father had turned him into one the moment he allowed the Sandaime to seal the Kyuubi no Kitsune into his infant son. It had been many years since he finally discovered what he was, but ever since then he had allowed his father to believe his child was human. He never could bring himself to speak the truth. Even on the man's deathbed he could not tell him. The betrayal he felt he was committing upon the man who had raised and loved him was almost too much to bare.

So instead, he focused on something else. "So you took away their authority over me to make sure that they don't end up using me as some weapon?"

"Partly." The Yondaime answered. "But the main reason behind your discharge is that I want you to leave this village. I am not naïve enough to believe that Danzou will allow a little thing as you no longer being a registered ninja of Konoha to try and use or even kill you. The only solution I have been able to come up with is for you to disappear."

"But father, where would I go? What would I do? This is the only home I have ever known. I have been raised to be a ninja since I was born. I do not know of any other way to live." And it was true. Naruto could fight. He was not a tradesman. He had never been taught a craft. He could kill, protect, and spy for money. That was it. Given time he was sure that he could think of something to do with his life, but being faced with such an issue at the moment, he was at a loss.

"Do not worry, Naruto. I already took all this into consideration. I have contacted an old acquaintance of the Sandaime's that I think can help. He runs a special kind of school where I believe you will be safe and be able to learn how to make a new life for yourself. He has already notified me of your acceptance and you are scheduled to leave in two weeks. That should give us enough time to be together and make preparations until I pass, but soon enough before Danzou can make any move he has planned." Minato then shakily reached out and took his boy's arm, a fatherly smile played across his lips. "I love you son, and as long as I am able, I will always protect you as best I can. I just wish I could do more."

Naruto's heart broke a little more at those words, unable to understand how the man in front of him could care so deeply for a demon like him, even if he did not know it.

"I love you too…Tou-san."

* * *

His father had actually managed to hold on a full ten days after that, surpassing what even Tsunade had thought possible. During that time Minato had told Naruto everything he knew about the place he was going to. Apparently the academy was some kind of school for monsters. The blonde teen was more than confident he would fit in perfectly. Whether he was happy about that fact, though, was another matter.

Thinking back on how long his father had lasted, Naruto was filled with a burst of pride that even death itself had to fight tooth and nail to take him down. However, that pride was soon replaced by sorrow knowing he would never see the only man who had truly cared for him again.

Finally exiting the dark tunnel they had been in, the bus pulled to a stop in a desolate area in front of a dead old oak tree and tattered scarecrow with a pumpkin for a head. Stepping out, Naruto immediately noticed the large crimson body of water in front of him and grey cloudy sky overhead. It was as if the sun was fighting a losing battle to make its presence known. Looking down the old dirt path he was on, he thought he could slightly make out a large building in the distance that most likely was the school. It was by his rough estimation maybe two miles away, or possibly even three. Nothing that should take him any time at all to reach.

Rubbing his forehead, he silently missed the headband that he once wore. His father had told him to leave it since he was no longer a shinobi of Konoha.

From behind him, he heard the only other passenger aboard the bus, aside from the driver, exit as well. He was a dark haired, average looking, male teen, wearing an identical assigned school uniform as himself, and appeared around equal age. The boy also seemed a bit shorter. Though, that could just be because Naruto was somewhat taller than average for his age.

"Hehe, we have arrived sonny boys. Be carefull…" The bus driver laughed one more time, creepily, for good measure before driving away.

"WAIT A MINUTE! WHAT IS THIS PLACE!?"

Naruto rubbed his ears in discomfort from the boy's sudden loud outburst. Turning around, he raised an eyebrow as if to ask 'was that necessary?'

The other teen didn't even seem to notice and continued his diatribe.

"Th-there's no way, what a creepy place…! It's like a completely different world from before we entered that tunnel."

Naruto remained silent as he watched the young man continue to freak out at the scenery. It was kinda amusing.

"Freakyyyy, seriously freakyyy. This makes me want to go home."

Deciding to take pity on the poor boy before the kid wet his pants, Naruto tried to calm him down.

"Come on man, it ain't that bad. I think the scenery gives this place some character. You'll be fine." Still seeing the teen's skeptical and slightly scared expression, he sighed. "I tell you what. Stick with me and I'll personally make sure nothing happens to you. My name's Namikaze Naruto by the way." Sticking out his hand, he offered a greeting.

Looking more at ease, if the slight dissipation of tension in his shoulders was anything to go by, the other teen took the presented hand.

"Thanks, I'm Aono Tsukune. It's nice to meet you Namikaze-san. Oh, and sorry about losing it a moment ago. This place isn't exactly what I expected."

"Not a problem Tsukune, and please, just call me Naruto."

"Ok." Taking a look around, Tsukune looked over at him in confusion. "So, uh, where exactly do you think this school is at?"

The whiskered teen pointed off down the trail. "Do you see that small structure way off in the distance there?"

"You mean the spooky mansion that looks like it's haunted?"

Naruto grinned. "Yep, that's the one."

"What!?" the dark haired teen shrieked. "But that will take us forever to get to. Couldn't the bus have at least dropped us off closer?"

Naruto looked slightly down at Tsukune in confusion before realization dawned on him. _Ah, he most not be one of the faster races of monsters that exists. I guess we're walkin it then. _However, after this, another thing his fellow teen said struck him as odd. _Why the hell _didn't_ the bus drop us off closer to the school?_

"Oh well, nothing we can do about it now. We might as well get to walking. It is probably going to take us awhile."

Looking none too thrilled about the coming hike, Tsukune nevertheless turned towards the path as suggested. However, before either of them could take even five steps, they were both startled by a loud yell behind them.

"Gyaaa! Ohhh nooo! Coming through!"

Turning around swiftly, Naruto easily managed to spot the girl on the out of control bike barreling down their way and effortlessly managed to leap to the side to avoid being run over.

His new companion was not so lucky.

"Ugh. Owowow. A bike just crashed into me," he moaned pitifully.

Naruto couldn't help being amused and yet slightly sorry for the boy's predicament. So much for personally making sure nothing happened to him. "Uh, are you two ok? That looked like it hurt."

"Ya, I'll be fine," Tsukune grumbled. "How about you ma…?" Looking up at the cute, pink haired girl in a school uniform who had crashed into him, he was immediately left at a loss for words. She was incredibly pretty with her long hair, and the cross around her neck accentuated her chest perfectly. But as suddenly as he took all that in, he noticed just as quickly where his left hand was resting. As if on instinct, he immediately jerked it away from her upper thigh. One could have assumed it burned him.

Naruto actually chuckled a little out load at the look on the boy's face. He didn't think the kid could turn any more red. "Well, Tsukune, if you think you are done molesting this poor girl here, maybe you could assist me in helping her up?" He laughed further at the sputtering response he got. _I think I just found myself a new friend…or at least a new source of entertainment._

"Oh calm down, man, I was just joking." Focusing more on the pink haired girl until his friend regained his composure, he helped her to her feet. "You ok?"

Standing up, the pretty young girl was just about to respond before she suddenly went into a trance like state at seeing the blood running from Tsukune's nose. Without a thought she immediately went to his side.

"The scent of…blood," she murmured. "I-I…can't. I lose control when I smell that scent." She was by then leaning heavily against the dazed young man's chest.

"Whaaa!? What's going on here!? Tsukune screamed, shocked out of his stupor.

"I…I'm sorry, but…It's just 'cuz…" Slowly, the girl leaned her head forward as if intending to kiss the dark haired teen, before at the last moment, deviating off to the side. "I'm a vampire."

Without further warning, she bit into Tsukune's neck, sucking his blood.

Naruto could actually hear the 'slurp'. "Kinky."

However, before the pink haired young woman could barely even get a taste, the boy jerked his head back forcefully, ripping her teeth from his neck.

"Gyaaaaaaa!" he cried as he began to run around frantically. "My blood's been sucked. Out of nowhere I had my blood sucked!"

"Actually," Naruto corrected, "she did say right before she bit you that she was a vampire." The sole Namikaze heir was soon realizing just how much he liked this easily startled guy. He was a never ending source of hilarity. Stopping long enough with his enjoyment though, he tried to remember what he had learned about vampires a few days before. From what he could recall, they were supposed to be at like the top of the food chain or something. Some kind of super monsters.

"I'm so sorry," the girl apologized. "I'm Akashiya Moka. Although I look like this, I'm a vampire."

That stopped Tsukune in his tracks. "Vampireee! You mean like the bloodsucking monsters that hate crosses and garlic!!?"

"Oh yes. Thank you so much for the treat. Your blood is sooooo yummy." Though saying this, she began pouting a bit in the end. The way she stuck out her lower lip was just too cute.

Naruto couldn't help but also find it kind of adorable despite himself. "If you enjoyed your little snack out of my friend here so much, what's with the long face?"

Finally noticing the blonde's presence once again, Moka blushed a small pink hue that matched her hair. "It's just that, um," she stumbled, "I didn't really get to drink that much and I'm still a little hungry. When I don't eat enough, my anemia acts up." She then slowly looked over pleadingly at Tsukune. When it finally dawned on him of what she was silently asking, he instantly began to panic.

Naruto stepped in. "Well, I'm sorry to inform you, miss, but it looks like your juice box has put a halt on all outgoing life fluids." Saying that, though, the look she gave him was almost too much. It was as if she was about to cry. Why him? _I guess I have to take one for the team._ With a weary sigh he put the girls coming tears on hold. "If you're really that hungry, I guess you can get your fix from me."

That immediately brought a smile to Moka's face. With a sudden burst of energy, she dashed right up to him before he could even get the chance to offer her his wrist like he had planned. She proceeded to bite directly into his neck and drank greedily. It didn't even really hurt that much. One just needed to be prepared for it or they could easily receive a bit of a shock. It was almost a full minute of nonstop sucking, though, before Naruto thought it was best to get her attention. If she didn't stop soon, he was unsure if he would be able to stop a few of the more perverted ideas that were forming in his head. _I wonder if she'd notice if I copped a feel?_

Luckily, or unfortunately, for him, the pretty young woman chose that moment to withdrawal, realizing how much she had drank.

When she finally did pull away, it was evident that she was deeply embarrassed.

"Oh my! Please forgive me. I just lost myself in the taste and feel of your blood. I've never experienced anything quite like it before."

Naruto looked over at Tsukune who appeared as if he was about to be sick from the previous feeding display. "What about his over there," he pointed. "You said practically the same thing about the taste of his too."

"Oh yes, his is very yummy and sweet, but yours…" As Moka tried to explain the comparison in the two boys' blood, she seemed to struggle with the words. "Yours tastes just as good, though has a hint of richness that I can't help but lose myself in. It's as if waves of energy are flowing through me, almost euphoric." Feeling self conscious at what she just said, she ducked her head. "Does that make any sense?"

Naruto stared at her for a minute before shrugging, the bite marks on his neck healing without anyone's notice. "No, not really." Walking over to his male companion/friend, he grabbed hold of his arm and dragged him back over to where the cute teen was still standing. "Come on, I think we should get going to the academy."

* * *

They had been walking for the better part of who knew how long, but would soon finally be reaching the giant mansion like structure of Youkai Academy. During that time the conversation had focused either on Moka or Naruto. Tsukune also talked a little about himself, but for the most part was either kinda quiet or more interested in asking his fellow companions questions. Neither of the other two really minded. The topics were light, mainly dealing in likes and dislikes. Naruto did talk a little about how he had grown up in a ninja village, but tried not to go into much detail. He wasn't sure how either of the two would handle some of the more gruesome stories he could tell. Not to mention, he really didn't want to think about his past. After so long, though, all three drifted into a somewhat awkward silence.

It would be Moka who finally broke it.

"Er, um…" she began; no longer able to hold back a question she had been wanting, dreading to ask. "So you really hate our kind…vampires?" She was looking at Tsukune a bit nervously.

Hearing the tone of her voice and seeing her expression, The Aono boy began to panic remembering what he had said when he first met her. _'Vampireee! You mean like the bloodsucking monsters that hate crosses and garlic!!?'_ It really hadn't been one of his best moments. But who could blame him? He had just been told he had had his blood sucked by a vampire!

"Huh!? No, I wouldn't say that! I mean, vampires are pretty unique!"

Smiling at his response, Moka turned toward Naruto as if asking the same question.

"Eh," he shrugged, "if all vampires are as cute as you, who wouldn't like'em? Definitely an enjoyable sight to have around." That immediately caused the poor girl to blush. Damn was he a flirt! That was one thing Ero-sennin could never pull off. Perverted actions without a charming cover would only get one's ass kicked. With a smooth enough attitude, one could get away with murder…usually.

"Th-that's great! Then if you are both okay with me, please be my friends!" Neither of the two boys could have refused even if they wanted to. The smile on the girl's face was just too innocent. "I was feeling so lonely since I don't know anyone here!"

Noticing how Tsukune seemed to be off in his own little world, gaping at the cute young woman, Naruto took the job of accepting on both their parts.

"Sure, we'd love to be your friends," he answered, jabbing his elbow into the other boy's side. "You hear that, Tsukune, this cutie here wants to be friends. Isn't that great?"

"Oh, uh, ya," the boy stuttered. "Great."

"Oh thank you sooooo much! When the entrance ceremony is over, please talk to me some more, ok?"

Before either boy could respond, all three teens noticed they had reached the school. They were surrounded by other students in uniforms exactly similar to their own.

Overall, it had been an interesting hike. Between the downcast sky, series of grave yards, and multitude of humanoid skulls littering the ground, Naruto couldn't help but admit that the grounds of Youkai Academy sure seemed to fit the purpose of the school. He assumed it was probably a monsters paradise. Being a demon himself, he could somewhat appreciate their surroundings, even if he was raised human.

Looking up at the mansion in front of them, he had to give the creators credit. It sure fit the bill of a learning institution for monsters.

Built atop big spooky hill? Check.

Lightning flashing over-head? Check.

Appearing as if one would never come out alive again once they entered? Double check.

Stereotypes had to come from somewhere right?

Tsukune on the other-hand seemed about to shit his pants. Man was that boy a card. Naruto just couldn't figure out what kind of monster the he might be. He seemed far too timid to be one of the major ones. However, considering how innocent Moka seemed, that may not have been a fair assumption. From what he had been told, vampires tended to have a very elitist attitude.

* * *

Sitting in the auditorium next to Tsukune, Naruto listened to the speaker drone on for the last few minutes of the entrance ceremony. The man spoke of such things as hard work, responsibility, and upholding integrity or some such. He wasn't really paying attention. Instead, he was wondering what might have happened to that Moka girl they had been talking to. As the three of them were trying to make their way through the hordes of students, she had somehow gotten separated from them. He wasn't worried, since he was sure they would meet up again later, but he was curious. What kind of hormonal teenager would he be if he didn't enjoy spending time around a pretty girl like her?

As he zoned out further, Naruto was brought back to reality by someone shaking his shoulder. "Huh?"

"Naruto," Tsukune spoke, "I said the ceremony is over. They are dismissing us to our homerooms."

"Oh sorry, kinda spaced back there didn't I? So where are you heading?"

"Well, I got Shizuka Nekonome," the Aono boy responded. "How about you?"

"Cool!" Naruto exclaimed, excited by that information. "We have the same homeroom teacher. I got Nekoname-sensei too. Guess they don't sort by alphabetical order huh?

Hearing that seemed to put Tsukune more at ease, apparently he had been a little nervous about the two of them being separated.

"Uh, ya."

After wandering the hallways for a small period of time, they finally found their room. It turned out to be in the opposite direction they had first started looking. _Figures_.

Taking their seats beside each other, they waited for the rest of the students to file in. It turned out they weren't the only ones to have trouble finding where to go. A few minutes later, the bell had rung signaling the period's start.

"Hello everyone," the female wearing glasses at the front of the room greeted, "and welcome to Youkai Academy! I am your homeroom teacher, Shizuka Nekoname. I'm sure you all already know this, but…this is a school built for the sake of monsters to attend!"

From out of the corner of his eye, Naruto could just barely notice the way his friend tensed at the teacher's words. What was up with him? However, he didn't have time to think on that considering the teacher was once again talking.

"As you can see displayed here," she pointed to the chalk board, "our current problem is this. The earth has already come under the control of the humans. In order for us monsters to continue to survive, we have no choice but to peacefully coexist with them. At this academy, you will be studying just how exactly to do this." The teacher paused for a moment to allow all the students to process what she said. "So for that reason, as a school rule, you will all live your lives at this academy in human form! Do you understand? It's a matter of being able to disguise yourself well as a human. This is the foundation of coexistence. You are to never allow any of your fellow students to know your 'true form'!"

Naruto considered the teacher's words and couldn't help thinking that the plan just described seemed a bit fucked up. What kind of life was that, being forced to live as something you're not? However, at the same time, he couldn't exactly think of a better solution either. He didn't have any major problems with humans, but he was well aware that they feared those different from themselves. Hell, humans attacked each other just because they possessed different beliefs. It wasn't hard to figure out what they would do if they were faced with the existence of monsters. While the creatures at the academy may be far more powerful than an average human, they were just too few in numbers to stand against the billions that lived on the earth. For the time being, all they could do was hide in the shadows of society.

"Hey Teach!" Naruto was brought back to the present at one of the students' loud shout. It was the guy sitting on Tsukune's other side. He was a young man, fairly well built, with brushed back, dark mahogany brown hair. Just listening to him, though, it was easy to hear the arrogant attitude he possessed. "Would it not be better for us to eat up those puny humans? And in the case of beautiful girls, to molest them?"

Naruto almost had a coughing fit hearing that. Was the guy stupid? While humans may be weak, they were creative bastards. From what he new of them in the primary dimension, they possessed weapons of such destruction that only the most powerful of monsters would be able to stand against them. Had the dude never heard of the hydrogen bomb?

"Oh." the teacher commented, seeming unconcerned by the outburst. "Incidentally, here at Youkai Academy, the teachers and students are allll monsters. There are no genuine humans here. Since this academy is within a secret sacred world, to those humans who come to know of our existence, we would have to bring them _death_…or something."

_Man, that's a little harsh. They'd kill a dude just because they're human? Couldn't they just erase their memory, or something, then send them on their way?_ Looking over, Naruto tried to gauge Tsukune's reaction to that announcement. What he saw, though, had him confused. The guy's response seemed much more extreme than necessary. It was as if he was having a panic attack. His complexion had gone completely pale. Naruto made a note to latter find out what was up with his new friend.

Just then, the door slammed open, followed by a feminine yell.

"S'cuse me! After the entrance ceremony I kinda got lost in the school…sorry I'm late." It turned out to be none other than the girl he and Tsukune had met earlier. Moka Akashiya.

"Hello," the teacher said. "That's fine. Just take a seat." Turning back around, the woman returned her attention to the board.

At the mere sight of the pink haired girl, the males of the class erupted into a commotion.

"Who is she?"

S-such flowing hair…big eyes!"

"Whoa, beautiful!"

"Even if it is just her human form, there isn't anyone else who could transform into such a beautiful girl!"

"Hot! She's too hot!"

"I'm so happy to be in the same class as this girl!!!"

Naruto smiled at the antics of his fellow classmates. It was too funny. For a laugh, he decided to rub his and Tsukune's new friendship with her in everyone's face. So he called out to her. He just knew he and his dark haired friend were about to become the ire of every male in there.

"Hey Moka! Over here!"

Turning, the girl finally spotted the two of them. She immediately ran over and enveloped him and then Tsukune in a hug. "Naruto! Tsukune! I'm sooo happy we're in the same class!"

Like Naruto imagined, the room burst into an uproar at the sight of the object of their affections being so friendly with two strangers already.

"What's with these guys!? What relation do they have with that girl!?"

"Our beautiful girl! Our beautiful girl!"

However, the Namikaze heir _was_ a bit on edge at the more than hostile look the mahogany haired boy, who had spoken earlier, was sending at them. He would have to keep an eye on that one.

* * *

When homeroom was finally over, everyone was dismissed to settle in and explore for the rest of the afternoon. Classes would begin the following morning. As soon as the teacher said that, Moka grabbed hold of both of her new friends' arms and quickly dragged them out into the hallway to begin a self created tour of the school. Everywhere they went, guys, and even some girls, would look at the two boys in envy. Every one of them would have given their left arm to be in either of the two teens' place.

Naruto actually laughed on more than one occasion at the death threats murmured towards him and Tsukune as they traipsed through the academy. If they wanted to try, he would be more than willing to put them down. He would just have to be discrete about it. They really had no idea who they would be messing with.

Towards the end of their self styled tour, though, their path became blocked by the same brusque boy who had been looking at them hostilely in homeroom.

"Hmm, such a pretty one," he practically purred in a twisted effort at charm. His entire focus was on the kind young woman between them. He didn't even spare a glance at either boy. "You are Akashiya Moka are you not? I am your classmate Saizou Komiya! Greetings!"

Walking forward, he proceeded to lift Tsukune off the ground effortlessly with one hand. "By the way, why is a beautiful lady like yourself associating with guys like this?"

That was a bad move on the young man's part. Not only was he manhandling a friend of Naruto's, but the dark haired teen was also someone the Namikaze heir had placed under his protection. Those were grounds enough for a serious ass kicking. To add to that, though, the brute's actions seemed to be upsetting Moka, judging by how tightly she was gripping his arm. That was enough to lose a limb over. And finally, he just didn't like the guy. He had no qualms killing those he did not like. The young man would have already been dead if it weren't for the fact Naruto was trying _not_ to draw attention to his real identity.

Luckily for the muscular teen, he soon released Tsukune from his grip. The boy had no idea just how close he had been to death. Or maybe on some subconscious level he did? Whatever the case, Saizou continued trying to get the Akashiya teen's attention.

"Come on, wouldn't someone like me be far superior those two sort of scummy guys? Why don't we go off somewhere, just the two of us, and have some fun?" He offered her his hand. "What do you say?"

Not wasting a beat, Moka quickly grabbed Tsukune's hand from the ground and rushed off dragging him and Naruto behind as she hurriedly called out an apology.

"I'm sorry! I'm having fun with Naruto and Tsukune now!!"

Soon after, all three of them disappeared around a corner. Saizou merely stood there with a sinister smirk on his face. He loved the hunt.

"Humpf, just watch me. I _never_ allow a delectable woman like you to escape…"

* * *

Finally coming to a stop in a stairwell, Tsukune and Moka gasped for breath, relieved to be away from the aggressive teen. Naruto, himself, was feeling just fine from their short little sprint, but was somewhat annoyed he didn't get a chance to beat that obnoxious bastards face in. Literally.

Moka laughed nervously from the suddenness of it all. "That was surprising wasn't it? I got a little scared." She then looked over at dark haired teen of the two boys. "Are you ok Tsukune?"

"Uh, ya," he replied, "I'm fine." Saying that, he paused for a moment in thought. "Moka…why are you so friendly to someone like me? Even though I'm just a worthless mediocre guy…"

"Don't say that!" she interrupted emotionally.

"Ya," Naruto agreed, though a little more calmly. "You're a great guy, Tsukune. For me personally, I love how you seem to constantly get me to laugh. You're a great friend. Right Moka?"

"Mhm," she nodded emphatically. "To me you're not worthless, mediocre, or anything!"

"Huh?" the shorter boy queried.

"She's saying man," the former shinobi clarified, "that we like you just the way you are. Don't go putting yourself down anymore, ok?" Once he finally got a nod of grudging acceptance, he smiled teasingly and turned to face the pretty female member of their group.

"Soooo, Moka-chan, why is it that you are wanting to be friends with me then, huh?

Seeing Naruto's charming smile directed at her, she couldn't fight back the rosy hue that blossomed across her face. "W-well, I like how you're really nice to me like Tsukune, but besides that…" Here her blush deepened to a full blown cherry red and she began squirming where she stood as she held her head in her hands cutely. "Were on bloodsucking terms!"

Naruto actually fell backwards at the absurdity of her declaration. Quickly hopping back up, he stared at her indignantly. "What am I food!"

For once, Tsukune seemed to be the one amused instead of being the source. "Come Naruto," he laughed, "she is a vampire. So, technically, since you let her feed from you, you would be considered food."

The blonde Namikaze just let forth a grunt disproval at that, followed by the beginnings of a grumpy sulk.

Moka didn't seem to notice the gentle ribbing by the Aono boy at all. "Be proud of yourself, Naruto!" she cheered. "You have grade A blood! It's way better than any of the stuff I've drank from transfusion packs! It's full bodied, and the sweetness and mineral balance are perfect!"

"That still makes me sound like food," he grumbled, though too quietly for anyone to hear.

"Actually…" the pink haired girl continued, "you know…th-that was my first time."

_That_ got Naruto's attention…though he usually heard that sentence in another context. "What!?"

"Since I didn't really get a chance to drink hardly anything at all from Tsukune, you're the first person whose body I have ever truly fed from. That feeling…I'll never forget it."

While her words were touching, they were also too good of an opening to ignore. "Sooo, are you saying that I popped your blood sucking cherry?" He laughed at the shocked look on his female friend's face that quickly turned to embarrassment. With a sigh, he continued his teasing. "You know, there is just nothing like taking a girl's 'V'. It's something that you know that you will possess no matter who that girl may end up with. It's yours forever."

The way he was going on, even Tsukune was growing uncomfortable at all the innuendo. Was he going too far…?

Nah.

"Actually, for your first time, I got to commend you on the power and technique of your sucking. If you ever want to give another location on my body, besides my neck, a try, just let me know." 'BAM!'

Yep, that was it. He crossed the line. But oh what a fun line it was to cross. Rubbing his sore head, he looked up to find that it wasn't Moka who had hit him, but Tsukune. The boy was actually staring at his fist in mortification at what he had done. Somehow, Naruto ended up feeling bad for the guy. And he was the one that hit him!

Standing up steadily enough, he attempted to ease his male friend's distress. "Don't worry about it man. I deserved it. That was my bad. I pushed the teasing too far." He then turned to his other friend. "I'm sorry Moka, please forgive me. I'm having a hard time remembering that things that may be acceptable in a military society among comrades may not be so in a high school between friends who have just met. Please accept my apology."

Hearing their friend speak in a somewhat serious and mature fashion, compared to his normally joking and teasing self; Moka and Tsukune were equally left at a loss for words momentarily. Hell, they both had just expected him to laugh it off. In the end, it was Moka to regain her wits first.

"Oh, uh, n-no problem Naruto-kun"

"Ya, what she said."

And like that, their blonde friend was back to normal. Without preamble, he looped an arm around each of their shoulders and set off guiding them along to explore the school further.

* * *

For the next few hours, all three of the teens walked about the academy together. They checked out everything it had to offer and made sure they knew where exactly everyone of their classes would be. The place really was enormous.

Eventually, though, after they had been exploring the grounds around the school for awhile, they came upon another large decrepit building. They actually had to cross through one of the grave yards to get to it.

"What is this place?" Tsukune asked at a loss for what the place was once used for.

"Don't be silly, Tsukune," answered Moka. "This is, of course, the school dorm we'll be living in. Didn't you read the handbook?"

"Dorm…?" The dark haired teen looked at their future housing in bewilderment.

Even Naruto had to admit it looked a little shabby. Maybe his tastes had been compromised by being raised by humans all those years?

"So cool," the pretty girl gushed from between them. "Such a building full of dignity and character!"

"No way! What are you looking at!?"

Once again Naruto couldn't help laughing at his friend's antics. Had he mentioned how hilarious he thought the guy was? The dude must have been an imp or something. Nothing else could possibly make him laugh so hard.

"You don't like it?" she asked, genuinely surprised. "Even though you're a monster…oh, speaking of which, what kind are you?"

Tsukune fidgeted nervously at her question. Hesitantly he mumbled an incomprehensible set of words. No one understood him.

"Oops, letting your true form out is against the school rules, isn't it? Sorry, I didn't mean to ask that question."

Naruto was a bit disappointed with his female friend's sudden retraction. He had actually been hoping he would find out what the other boy's form was finally. Srew the rules. It was really starting to bug him. And speaking of things bugging him…

"Hey Moka," the blonde asked.

"Yes Naruto-kun?"

"I've been thinking, I just can't seem to picture you as anything except a normal human. Don't take this the wrong way, but are you really a vampire?"

"Yep, of course." The girl didn't even hesitate in her response. "Right now I look pretty human, but, y'see…" As she parted the top half of her shirt a bit, both boys immediately locked eyes onto the large amount of cleavage they assumed she was indicating too. "If I take this Rosary on my chest off, I become the real thing. An evil and scaaaaary vampire."

While Tsukune appeared mildly fascinated, Naruto was internally disappointed. He was hopping for something more along the lines of: tweak right nipple once for vampire, left nipple twice for human. Oh well, a guy could dream.

Meanwhile, Moka was still giving a detailed explanation of her situation. "Rosaries actually have the effect of sealing off a vampire's power. Since in my original form I was hated and caused conflict, I put this rosary on myself so I'd keep my vampire powers sealed."

And there it was again. Whenever any talk about monsters or something similar was going on, Naruto could always sense Tsukune's unease. Something was just not adding up. But what? The Namikaze heir was so focused on his other friend, that he didn't even notice Moka stepping into his personal space as she continued to talk.

"But even if our power is sealed, we do still end up craving blood."

Naruto never even heard that last statement before he suddenly felt two fangs biting into his neck. Yep, being prepared was the key to having your blood sucked. Damn that hurt!

* * *

It was early the next day when Naruto and Moka were walking around together looking for their other friend. The sun was already making its gradual rise in the west.

"Where do you think he could be, Naruto-kun?"

"I don't know. You were there yesterday. He just said he had to go take care of something and ran off."

"Do you think it was something I said? Do you think it was because of all the talk about me being a vampire?"

Naruto could clearly see the concern and insecurity in her eyes thinking she had scared away one of her friends. When they found that guy, he would be sure to give him a lump on the head for making the poor girl worry. Whether Tsukune meant to or not wasn't the issue.

"It'll be fine Moka-chan. I'm sure he just decided to head to class early. He was probably nervous about getting lost again so he gave himself plenty of time." Despite his assurances, though, even he did not completely believe that. Something didn't feel right.

It was almost fifteen minutes later that the two of them finally found their friend running frantically back and forth in one of the graveyards. The strange thing about the scene, however, was the two suitcases he was tugging along for some reason. Naruto could also slightly make out few faint bruises upon his face.

Moka didn't even seem to care, she was so relieved. Without forewarning she glomped him in a big, suffocating hug around the neck.

"Tsukune, we're so glad we found you. If we don't hurry, we're going to be tardy." It was only at his lack of response that she finally noticed all the luggage.

"I-I can't help it, Moka, Naruto. This school is just too scary! I wanna go to a human school!"

And like that, it was as if Naruto had an epiphany at what was going on with his friend. But deciding to wait for confirmation, he stayed quiet.

"A human one…?" the female of their group murmured before a sudden look of panic set in upon her? "No way! You can't go off to some human school! I hate those humans!!"

The blonde Namikaze heir cringed at those words knowing that was probably not the right thing to say at that moment.

Tsukune, himself, was blown away and deeply hurt by the ferociousness of her words. All he could get out was a basic "Huh?"

It didn't matter, though. It was like a damn of pent up emotion had been released inside the beautiful woman. She completely unloaded on them both.

"I…I actually went to a human school up through secondary. I was isolated…none of those humans believed in monsters, so I started thinking I was weird. I was different from everyone, so I thought it would be better if I wasn't there. I believed it would be better if I disappeared. It was sooooo tough…" She was by then fighting back tears. "But…you and Naruto said I was all right even though you found out that I'm a vampire and so…" she smiled. "This has been the first time in my life that I haven't felt alone! So you can't go! Let's all three of us study hard at this academy together!"

Following Moka's long heartfelt declaration, the entire surroundings fell into silence. It was Tsukune who pierced it, though his voice was barely over a whisper. He couldn't even look at her, his face was to the ground.

"If…" he began. "If I said I was one of those humans that you hate…would you still stop me?"

The pink haired beauty's eyes flew open wide. "Huh?"

"I'm…human."

There it was; the source behind all the strange behavior on Tsukune's part. Somehow, he, as a human, winded up getting himself stuck in a school for monsters. It all made so much sense. The key to the puzzle.

To the dark haired boy, it was as if a huge burden had been lifted off his back. Damn the consequences.

"I AM A HUMAN!" he yelled. "Through some kind of mistake, I ended up being let into this school, but I'm different from both of you!"

Moka couldn't accept it. "No…! There's no way a human could be here…"

"Moka…that look on your face was because you realized I'm human…" He could no longer even face her as he turned his back. "That's right; I shouldn't even be here after all anyway."

He had it all wrong, that's not what she meant! She tried reaching out to him. "…! Wait, really Tsukune. I…"

"LET GO!" he yelled forcefully, jerking away. "YOU HATE HUMANS, RIGHT!? OH, AND EXCUSE ME FOR BEING A FRIEND TO A PAIR OF MONSTERS!!" That said, he dashed off as fast as his legs could carry him.

"TSUKUNEEE!"

Watching as the boy disappeared into the distance, Moka collapsed from the emotional exertion of it all. She could no longer fight the tears as they flowed, nor the sobs that escaped from her mouth.

Naruto almost felt his heart break seeing one of the only two people that he had ever come to consider a real friend be in such pain. It didn't matter that he had only known her for a day. She accepted him for what he was. He was a monster and she was ok with that. Whether she knew his true secret didn't matter at that moment.

Damn that brunette bastard! He hated trying to deal with crying women!

So, nevertheless, the blond haired teen awkwardly kneeled down and gently pulled the distraught young woman into a comforting embrace. As he wrapped his arms around her small frame, he allowed her to unleash all her new found sorrow upon his chest. It wouldn't be long till his shirt would be soaked.

The two ended up staying that way, Naruto only offering the occasional word when needed, until the girl's shaking form finally decreased to a more acceptable level. He had been working out what to say in his mind. He just hopped it worked.

"Moka-chan" he soothed, though, with a sobering undertone in his voice. "I need you to be completely honest with me, ok?"

Said girl slowly looked up at him with confused, tear-filled and red-rimmed eyes, but weakly nodded her acceptance.

"Do you really and truly care whether or not Tsukune is a human? Does that one little fact change who he is?" he asked. "Is he _not_ still the same Tsukune whom you ran over with your bike just yesterday and accepted the fact you're a vampire?" Here he paused to let his words sink in. "Is he not still our friend?"

As Moka stared into Naruto's intense cerulean orbs, it was as if his words were communicating directly to her soul. She knew instinctively what her answer was. It was as if a raging inferno of determination had been lit in her heart. "Yes." She declared. "Tsukune is still Tsukune."

"Then that settles it," he responded, picking them both up to their feet with a smile. "Believe in me, Moka, and I promise you I will bring back our friend," his grin grew wider, "even if I have to drag his sorry ass back kicking and screaming."

Moka giggled softly at that last part, but still nodded her head in confirmation. "I believe, Naruto-kun."

"Good. Then head back towards the school, and I'll go grab that overdramatic idiot." Without another word, he placed a quick peck on her forehead and dashed off into the direction the other teen had gone.

* * *

Standing at the scarecrow bus stop, Tsukune continued to pace back and forth while staring at his withdrawal notice. He was plagued by uncertainty. The longer he waited for his ride to arrive so he could get the hell out of there, the more he wondered if he was making the right choice.

'_It's the first time in my life that I haven't felt alone.'_

That was what she had told him. Thinking back to just the day before, he couldn't help but slightly feel the same way. Despite being surrounded by a school full of monsters, when he was with Moka and Naruto, he really did feel like part of a group. It was as if it was the first time in his life that he had real friends. But they were monsters…

_If I go back home, once again…I can get back to being normal._

"…But…is this right…like this…for me…?"

"I don't know," spoke a familiar voice from behind him. "Is it?"

Almost having a heart attack from the shock, the dark haired teen spun around to be met with the familiar site of his male friend's golden lochs and whiskered face. The bastard was grinning.

"I didn't scare ya, did I?" Naruto laughed at the agitated look Tsukune was giving him.

"Naruto, what are you doing here? I already told you and Moka that I'm leaving. I can't take it at this school. Besides…" his head fell as his voice trailed off.

"Besides, what?" the blonde pressed.

"You heard her. Moka said it herself. She hates humans like me."

Naruto tsked while shaking his head. "Tsukune, Tsukune, Tsukune." Walking forward a bit, he placed his right hand on the other boy's shoulder. "You just don't get it do you?"

At his companion's look of confusion, he went on. "It isn't the fact that humans are human that she hates your kind so much. It is what they symbolize. They represent all the years of loneliness she's felt. If you remember, she didn't say that she didn't want to be friends with those kids from her middle school, but that _they_ didn't want to be _her_ friends. Just because they saw her as weird, they isolated her. Sometimes you have to look underneath the underneath. Do you understand?"

Thinking on what he said, Tsukune hoped that was true. Eventually he gave a hesitant nod. "I-I think so…" he paused. "But doesn't that just make me a constant symbol of all that time she was unhappy?"

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

Slowly walking back to the school like Naruto had suggested, Moka still couldn't stop crying slightly from how bad she felt over what she had said to Tsukune. She really didn't mean it. She didn't hate humans at all. She just hated how they always made her feel isolated in the past, like she could never fit in. But Tsukune…he was different. He and Naruto both made her feel accepted. They each had said she was their friend. They were her _first _friends. For some reason they didn't mind that she was a vampire, which even among monsters had set her apart. The day before had been the happiest of her entire life…and now it looked like she had ruined it all.

"Hey! What are you doing out here alone!?" Someone had just yanked her wrist above her head.

She immediately saw who it was.

"Saizou!"

"Don't worry Akashiya Moka," he growled. "You shouldn't be lonely when you can be with a man like me!"

* * *

"Dude! You can't seriously be this dense. It doesn't matter to her what you are. Whether you're human, werewolf, goblin, or even a nargle, she likes you. And you know why? You treat her as if she's normal. Got it?"

Tsukune finally began to look at Naruto with a light of understanding. She wasn't upset at him being human, she was upset that he was going to leave her! Why did he not see that!?

Wait…

"What's a nargle?"

Naruto palmed his face. "Ok, so I made that last one up. Just answer the damn question."

The other boy chuckled, more at ease than before. "So she doesn't want me to leave?"

"Hell no!" the blonde yelled. "After you ran off, she completely broke into tears. She was near inconsolable. And guess what?"

"What"

Naruto then bashed the dark haired teen upside the head.

"I was the one that had to comfort her! Do you have any idea how awkward it is to try and calm a distraught woman? Huh? Well, let me tell you. NOT PLEASANT! That shit just ain't in my skill set."

Despite the growing lump on the back of his head, Tsukune couldn't help but laugh further at his friend's tirade.

"Ok, ok, I'm sorry. Just don't hit me again," the Aono boy exaggeratedly rubbed his sore head. "That hurt."

"I'll think about. Now, are you going to come back with me or do you still plan to leave?"

Just then the bus they had arrived on pulled to a stop in front of them.

"Hehe, so you two are running away after all. Somehow I had a feeling you would." The creepy driver looked down at them with those glowing yellow eyes. "That's fine sonny boys. If you have no regrets, come aboard."

Looking up at the man, Naruto was indignant that the guy thought he wanted to leave. "Actually bus driver-san, I just came here to have a talk with my friend. He's the one that called for you."

Tsukune stroked the back of his neck bashfully. "Ya, sorry about that, but I think I've changed my mind. I'm going to stay here at Youkai Academy."

"Are you sure?" the driver asked. At the teen's nod, the man smiled. "All right then, don't go getting yourself killed."

Then without another word, the guy shut the bus' door and turned to drive off back to whence he came.

Naruto stood there grinning. Slinging his arm over the other boy's shoulders, he gave himself an internal pat on the back. _Damn I'm good._

"Glad you made the right choice man. I would have hated to have to destroy that nice dude's bus. He seems to really like it."

Tsukune looked over in shock. "W-what are you talking about?"

"Well, you see…" the blonde chuckled with mirth, "I kinda promised Moka to bring you back with me no matter what. I think I said something along the lines of 'kicking and screaming if necessary'. I just wanted to give you the chance to make the choice youself first."

"You mean it didn't matter what I decided? You were going to make sure I stayed here whether I wanted to or not!?"

"Ya, pretty much. Why?"

"…Oh…uh, ok. Just checking I guess." For some reason, the human teen couldn't bring himself to be angry. In fact, in a twisted sort of way, he was happy.

Damn that school had a way of fucking with someone's head.

"Good, now that we have that all squared away, what do you say we get back to the academy? If we hurry, we just might make it before second period."

The whiskered teen didn't even wait for the other boy to respond before he picked him up under one arm and dashed off back along the trail. Sure they could have walked, but Naruto had already made that trip once, and he had no intention of hiking it again.

* * *

Slamming against a nearby tombstone, Moka let out a shriek of both shock and pain. Saizou had just thrown her none too gently over 5 feet. If it weren't for her being a vampire, there was no doubt she would have broken something. Standing on shaky legs, she looked at her attacker in fear.

The young man laughed, throwing his school coat to the side. "I'm serious," he spoke. "Your beauty is incomparable to any of those puny humans I have molested. I _will _have you Akashiya Moka!"

"Saizou, please…" she pleaded.

It had no effect. He growled as his body began to change shape. His muscles bulked and he grew twice as large in size. Spikes and claws of bone formed as he whipped his monstrously long tong around fiendishly.

"Ohh, I just can't stop myself when I feel like this, my body starts to ach. When I come to this point, there is no stopping me…I just can't stay in human form anymore!"

"N-no, someone help…"

"Mwahahaha," he laughed psychotically at her petty cries. "I'm going to enjoy this little violation of the school rules!"

As he said that, his abnormally long tongue shot forth from his moth to coil around Moka's helpless form. Lifting her from the ground, he whipped her through the air into one of the many surrounding trees.

Hitting hard, she called out one last time in desperation, instinct ruling her thoughts.

"NARUTO!"

Then, out of nowhere, as if kami himself were answering her prayers, a small shining blade flew though the air and pierced the grotesque slimy tongue gripping her leg. Saizou screamed in fury as it was pinned to the ground. Taking a moment, Moka looked up to identify her would be savior.

It was Naruto! Added to that, he had brought back Tsukune like he had promised.

Dropping the boy to the ground, the blonde looked on at the scene with a steely sort of calm. However, if one looked into his narrowed blue orbs, they would see the raging inferno of pain he was ready to unleash. Briefly looking down at his side, he addressed his friend.

"Tsukune…go check on Moka and see if she's alright. If you can, get her the hell out of here. I'll keep this asshole busy until then. You got me?"

Said young man quickly stood to his feet, equally worried for the pink haired girl. Giving only a nod, he dashed towards her side.

"Ahh," Saizou hissed, removing the kunai from his tongue. "If it isn't the two puny little scumbags from earlier." He then trained his focus onto Tsukune. "What are you even doing here? I thought I said the next time I saw you near Moka I'd kill you? Coming back for another beating?"

Without further warning, the burly transformed monster cocked his gigantic fist back and charged at the human boy kneeling beside the pink haired girl. Both teens watched in ample horror as the behemoth headed straight for them, each unable to do anything to stop him. The following events all seemed to happen in slow motion.

Saizou's massive form was almost directly in front of them, his fist already on its forward path of carnage. It came closer and closer to them as they watched on paralyzed and helpless. Then, like a golden flash, there was Naruto. He stood unwavering between them and the attacking monster. The blonde didn't even show an ounce of fear, determination visible in his form. Bringing up both of his arms, he just barely put a stop to the oncoming punch in time. The force behind it was so powerful, that even Tsukune and Moka could feel the onrush of wind from the reverberating shockwave. Amazingly, Naruto slid back but only a couple inches. However, before anyone could even think of rejoicing, they were stricken by the insidious smirk on the heavily-built man's face. Having both his hands occupied holding back the creature's fist, the Namikaze heir was unable to do anything about the previously seen tongue shooting out of Saizou's mouth once more. It headed straight for Tsukune…

No one had time to react, it happened so fast. All the previous events happened in but a few seconds before the dark haired teen was seen flying through the air. The sound of his impact echoed through the clearing. He wasn't moving.

"TSUKUNE!"

Moka's shout broke through the fog of Naruto's mind seeing one of his only two friends attacked in such a way. His eyes flashed red for the briefest of seconds.

With a momentary burst of power he leaped up into the air, still holding the other man's arm, and proceeded to use both his feet to drop kick Saizou directly in the chest. The enormous monster went skidding back a multitude of feet into a distant tree.

Looking back, Naruto saw that Moka was already up and running towards Tsukune's downed form. That was all the time he had before he noticed his foe picking himself back up. Taking in a deep breath, he rushed forward to continue the fight. It would be so much easier if he could just use even a little of his demonic power, but he couldn't risk it. He didn't want to even hint at what, or better yet who, he really was. He was Naruto now, and that was who he wanted to remain. He was done with his past life. The old him was long dead, only a distant memory.

One good thing he did have going for himself, though, was his proficiency with chakra. By molding it just right within his body, he could enhance his strength and speed to impossible levels for a mere human. Unfortunately, by his enemy's standards, that was just enough to hold his own in regards to strength. Naruto's only real advantage at that moment was superior speed and greater martial technique. Demonstrating this, he let forth a barrage of perfectly placed kicks and punches upon his still disoriented opponent. If he could just keep Saizou occupied long enough, he could allow Moka and Tsukune to get the fuck away. Then the sorry excuse for a monster would be in trouble. With no witnesses, he would not be limited by holding back. It would only take a fraction of his true power to incinerate the bastard within a few seconds. Unfortunately, the deviant monster had other plans.

Once again forgetting about his enemy's formidable tongue, Naruto was blindsided from the side, knocking him through half a dozen nearby trees. That _really _hurt. Almost enough for him to say screw cautious and show that offending asshole his place. Reigning in his temper, though, he kept his calm. The fucker wasn't worth it. Shakily standing to his feet, the blonde locked eyes with the other man.

That was when both of the two combatants felt the sudden presence of an overwhelming demonic aura. It flooded the landscape around them and neither could discern exactly from where it came. However, that soon was not an issue as a woman who looked remarkably similar to Moka stepped into the clearing.

Damn was she hot! Just looking at her Naruto was starting to get aroused. Those legs, that ass, and oh those breasts! The red slited eyes and silver hair she sported just added to the exotic effect. Could that have really have been Moka? While there was no denying the pink haired girl was extremely cute and pretty, the woman before him was downright sexy. Even her walk had a sultry sort of appeal to it. It was almost enough to overlook the unnatural level of power that radiated off her presence. Keyword being 'almost'.

Walking forward, it was as if she was completely unconcerned by the behemoth that stood before her. To her, he was nothing but an insignificant pest. Yawning, she lazily stretched her limbs. Naruto's eyes locked onto her breast as she bounced up and down from one foot to the other. _Dear diary, today was a good day._

"So you are the one behind the cause of awakening me from my slumber, huh?" The apathetic way she talked down to the heavily-built monster sounded much more like the elitist attitude Naruto had been told to expect from vampires. He also noticed that her voice was noticeably deeper, though no less feminine than her pink haired self.

Hearing her speak directly to him, Saizou began to shake in mounting fear. The demonic aura she projected was too much for him to take. It was the woman's turn to smirk.

"What's wrong rogue one…?" she asked mockingly. "You…want me right? Just try and take me by force."

That served to enrage the bulky monster just enough to send him into an unthinking rage. No one made a fool of him! Running forward, fist cocked back, he rushed headstrong to attack. The woman's smirk turned predatory. She waited until he was directly in front of her before acting.

"Know your place!"

Punching the monster so hard into the ground, Saizou's body created a crater over three meters wide. When the dust cleared, his body lay there completely unmoving. Naruto actually felt a bit put out by the ease at which she dealt with the situation. _I could have done that too if I wanted._ With a pout, he slowly walked over to the silver haired vampire.

"Thanks for the help, I guess."

The woman 'pft'ed in uncaring apathay at his gratitude. "A low class monster like him who had nothing to show for his size didn't even make for a decent opponent in a contest of strength."

What a bitch! He had just semi-sincerely thanked her for her help and she had the nerve to act all haughty with him. There was only one thing he could think in response to that.

"Well…you cheated."

That got her attention. Narrowing her eyes dangerously, she stared directly at him. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. You cheated," he repeated. "I could have done that too if I busted out my monster form. It was complete overkill to go all vampire on his ass. Completely unsportsmanlike."

"You," she growled, "are so lucky my more innocent persona likes you so much. If it weren't for that fact, I would easily show you your place." As if to emphasize her point, or maybe just to show off, she briefly flashed the full might of her demonic aura. Naruto had to admit it was impressive. Enough so, that it convinced him to back off on his accusations.

"So, uh, you really are Moka?" he asked.

Flipping her hair back in a more than slightly snobbish fashion, the super vampire deemed his question worthy of a response.

"Yes, I am Moka Akashiya. The pink haired girl you know is the form and personality I take when the rosario is clipped around my neck. But make no mistake, I am the true version of myself."

It was then that a sudden sense of dread overcame the sole Namikaze heir. Did that mean…?

"So…do you actually know, see, and uh… hear everything the other Moka does?" he prodded nervously. _Oh kami, please say no. _

The malevolent look she gave him, though, was answer enough. He gulped.

"What instance would you be referring too?" she asked in a sickly sweet voice. "All those times you stared at my chest? The comment you made about 'popping my blood sucking cherry'? Or how about how you suggested to my kinder self to feel welcome sucking from another certain part of you body?"

Naruto cried internally.

"Fuck."

That was all he managed to get out before sexy Moka nailed him directly in the solar plexus, careening his body once again into another set of trees. His sorry ass by then was littered with bruises and cuts from the pounding he had received from both during and after the fight. As he groggily tried to shake the stars from his vision, he once again noticed the angry woman before him. _Please don't hit me!_

Lucky for him, though, the mighty vampire decided to take pity on his pathetic form. Reaching down, she griped his forearm roughly and dragged him to his feet. Without a word, she proceeded to lift him onto her shoulder and began carrying back across the clearing. Naruto soon realized she was taking him over to where Tsukune sat resting. At the sight of the blonde, the other boy was immediately to his feet.

"Naruto! Are you ok? Did Saizou do all that to you?"

Not given a chance to respond, said young man was unceremoniously dropped into a heap on the ground. His carcass made a rather large 'thud'. Grumbling, he took a moment to answer the question.

"Actually," he began, "I did pretty well for myself before super vamp here came and laid the smack down on the guy. The reason I look as bad as I do now, is because she then went all crazy and felt some self-righteous need to 'put me in my place'. I'm tellin ya dude, I miss the nice Moka. I don't care if this other version is sexy as hell."

From behind him, the silver haired woman's eyebrow ticked at the total lack of respect. It was obvious the young man before her had no sense of self-preservation.

"You are so lucky, little man, that I and my other self enjoy your blood so much," she hissed. "Tsukune, hand me the rosario. I tire of dealing with this fool."

Seeing the barely contained fury the vampire before him was holding back, the Aono boy scrambled to comply. Finally finding the cross like trinket, he passed it to her shakily. He really hopped she wouldn't take out her anger of Naruto on him. Moka just smirked at his jittery behavior before sighing as she looked at the rosario in her hands.

"I've had enough of this." She looked directly at the two boys. "Until we meet again, you had better baby-sit my sentimental other self." Her attention then focused entirely on the blonde. "And you had better watch yourself. If you continue with your lewd antics towards the 'other' Moka, you can rest assured I will beat you within an inch of your life."

Naruto gulped at the non-joking sound of her voice. Luckily though, she did not bother waiting for a response. Seeing she had finally been successful in scaring him at least a little, she went ahead and clipped the silver charm back around her neck.

Naruto and Tsukune could only stare on equally in interest at Moka's transformation. The sexy dangerous vampire rapidly reverted back to her more kind-hearted schoolgirl self. Watching her, the blonde was slightly disappointed at the decreased bust size, but refrained from commenting as he remembered the silver haired woman's parting words. However, he quickly became aware at how much the change had taken out of his female friend when she fell directly into his broad and bruised chest. Looking up, he stared at the other teen and asked the first thing that popped into his mind.

"So…" he began, "want to go grab a bite to eat?"

Tsukune stared back in confusion at the out of the blue question. "What?"

"I asked if you want to grab a bit to eat," he repeated. "We can drop sleeping beauty off here at her dorm and then raid the cafeteria. I don't know about you, but all this drama today has made me hungry."

The dark haired Aono boy looked at Naruto curiously for a solid few moments before finally giving up. It had been a too long a morning. "Sure, whatever."

Happy with the response, the Namikaze heir stood to his feet cradling the pink haired girl gently in his arms. With a smile both teens set off back to the dorms. As they left though, Tsukune never noticed the shadowy figure left behind hidden in one of the many trees.

* * *

Jumping to the ground, a blonde young man in a school uniform landed without a sound. The look upon his face was anything but jovial. As he walked through the clearing, he made his way to the crater where Saizou Komiya was laying beaten and broken. Looking down on the young man's pitiful form he sneered.

"Heh, pathetic," he spat. "You truly had no idea what you were getting into were you? To think a lowly monster like yourself could cause so much trouble." Here the man sighed. Pulling out a small shiny metal blade, he kneeled down next to the unconscious behemoth. "Well, I'm going to make sure you never get the chance to cause anyone trouble ever again. Sayonara asshole." Slicing the man's throat without an ounce of hesitation or remorse, he waited only long enough to see the vile brute bleed-out into death before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Back at the dorms Naruto grinned.

* * *

**A/N: **And that is a wrap for the introduction of my newest story after not posting anything for almost 2 years. This story will start out mainly revolving around the entirety of the Rosario Vampire Manga and then eventually brake off into less cannon territory once I run through a set portion of the manga. In the beginning expect a chapter of this story to correlate with a chapter of the manga, but eventually I will start cutting out and merging unnecessary stuff. I have no idea exactly how long this story will run, but I can say it will easily be over Two hundred thousand words. Also, I hope you guys like how the title of this story relates to this chapter. It symbolizes the story in more ways than one. Please let me know what you think, especially those of you who have read my first attempt at writing so long ago. Have I improved?

**A/N-2: **The 'nargle' reference in this chapter actually belongs to Luna Lovegood of the Harry Potter series. I own no part of Harry Potter. That's all J.K. Rowling.

**A/N-3: **I would like to plug a new free MMORPG that I have found. It is call Billy vs. Snakeman. There is a link to it at the top of my profile page. It is primarily a parody type game of the Naruto anime/manga, but also branches out to parody a few other anime. It is nothing huge like WoW or Everquest, but it is fun. Especially the further you get into it where you can join a village and talk to other members. It's a lot of fun to level up your character and become stronger. If you use my character as a reference when you create your character you get bonus stamina points on your first day. My character's name is "Aoshi".


	2. Chapter 2

**Rating: **M (for violence, gore, explicit adult situations, and other things those under 18 years of age should not be reading)

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or Rosario Vampire in any way and I am making no profit off of this story, so don't try to sue me…I'm a poor college student.

**A/N**: Sorry for the long wait, but I have an authors note at the end of the chapter to explain a bit the reason why. I promise you that chapter 3 won't take anywhere near as long, maybe a month tops. The word count for this chapter was just at a little over 19,000 according to fanfiction, but Microsoft Word numbers it at a little under 18,000 (shrugs). It really didn't want to end, but I was unable to find a good halfway point to cut the chapter in half. Sorry for it being so long. I will try to shorten my chapters to stick closer to 10,000 words each. Also, I am my own Beta right now, but am curious if anyone would like to help me with editing this story. I know I am not perfect and it would probably reduce a lot of my errors if I had a second person looking over my chapters before I post them. I've also gone back and corrected a few problems in the last chapter that some of you have pointed out.

**A Beautiful Nightmare**

The private Youkai Academy: it was a school meant for monsters located in a secret, sacred world far away from any humans. Here, students were to learn how to fade into society and coexist with humanity. To help with this, it was a stated rule that no one was to ever reveal their true form while there. They were meant to attend the academy as if they were, in all actuality, human. For one young man, this came a bit more naturally than others. His name was Aono Tsukune, an average male teen with a mediocre disposition. He could accomplish this feat better than anyone else and would have been proud of this fact if it wasn't for one small snag.

Unknown to the entire student body except two others, he actually _was_ human: a literal, no supernatural power wielding, average human. If the truth ever came out about his secret, there was no doubt what the repercussions would be. He had been told on the very first day that any human that stumbled upon the school would be killed. But then…why didn't he just leave?

"Oh, hey look!" one of the male students around him shouted. "It's Moka-san."

"Oooh…she looks just as stunning as ever!" another yelled. "It's like she's surrounded by a light."

"She's so dazzling!"

"Akashiya Moka…"

"She's obviously the academy's number one beauty!"

Yep, there was the cause behind Tsukune's continued residency there at Youkai Academy, the reason for him gambling with his life.

"Oh, morning Moka-san," he greeted as she got near.

Finally noticing him, the pink haired girl immediately rushed to his side, crushing his arm in a near bone-braking hug. Damn was he a lucky bastard. At least that was what all the surrounding students were thinking.

"Morning Tsukune!"

Yes, that mediocre human boy was friends with possibly the most widely desired girl at school. She practically adored him. He was one of her two best friends.

Speaking of which…

"Hey guys! How's it goin!?"

That was Namikaze Naruto. Walking up between the two teens, he proceeded to wrap a friendly arm around each of their shoulders. The blonde haired young man was actually the third member of their little trio. The three of them had by then been officially attending Youkai Academy for exactly a week. For the most part, aside from a brief period of drama the second day, their time there had been relatively uneventful. Their lives were going pretty much like any other student's. They would get up, go to classes, grab a bite to eat at meals, and hangout. Overall, it was fairly enjoyable.

However, unknown to two of the members in their small group, it was becoming a widely known fact that it was not wise to try and mess with either Akashiya Moka or her two friends. It was said that those that tried to harm or cause trouble for any of them were not often seen again. The most glaring example of this had been Komiya Saizou who had disappeared after manhandling Aono Tsukune on the first day. Whether it was only a coincidence or not, no one knew the answer.

As the trio leisurely strolled about campus together, like always Tsukune was fidgeting nervously at glares from other students, Moka was blushing from Naruto's teasing, and said young man was laughing internally at both his companion's behavior. They were a fairly easy going group generally, but on occasion it was surprisingly the jokester among them that would show sides to himself that, frankly, shocked and, to a degree, scared his friends. It was as if he had a Jekyll and Hyde complex. One minute he would be the normal charmer they had come to know, but the second one of Moka's admirers or Tsukune's detractors became a bit too aggressive towards them, he would change into a whole other person. If they had to describe it further, it was kind of similar to how the female of their group's personality changed when she transformed into her true vampire self. Only with Naruto, he showed no outward alteration about him, only a sudden more deadly presence. It was like he would be just waiting for their aggressors to step over the line so he could feel justified in slaughtering them. When he was like that, his bloodlust was almost palpable.

Despite all that though, the Namikaze heir only rarely became like that, and even then both of his friends sort of understood he was just being protective. If someone asked either of the two, they would probably say they were even grateful for how he acted since it really did help give them a sense of security with all the hostility that they were normally surrounded with.

Because of this then, it came as no surprise that even Tsukune felt relatively safe as long as he was around the blonde. The glares still creped him out, but that was it. As for Moka, she found it very sweet and cute, despite Naruto adamantly declaring against this on many occasions. He preferred handsome, cool, awesome, funny, and even lazy for some reason, but cute was definitely not on the list. The Akashiya girl loved how he would childishly pout whenever she refused to give into his assertions.

Sitting down eventually on a campus building's stoop, the three companions decided to take a rest. They had finally managed to find an abandoned area to be alone without everyone staring and talking about them.

"I'm tellin ya Moka-chan," Naruto pressed, "I didn't like those guys' attitude. They were getting way too pushy for my taste."

Said girl could only smile prettily at her friend's restated claim. The blonde young man had nearly caused a group of rather vulgar boys to shit themselves after they had tried coming on to her only a few minutes before. In his defense though, Tsukune wasn't all too appreciative either at the things those guys had said or insinuated; he just wasn't about to say so.

"Come on Naruto," the Aono teen countered with a grin. "We both know you've said things to Moka with far more innuendo than what those other guys did."

The blonde male huffed indignantly at that. So what if it was true?

"Well…that's not the point. Besides, I'm her friend. I automatically get more leeway than others." Naruto then turned smugly back towards the pink haired beauty. "Not to mention, I need some kind of perk system in payment for being used as a personal juice box." At his words though, the young man incidentally sparked a fresh craving out of the subject of his attention. Seeing the silent question in her eyes, he sighed in resignation.

"Go ahead."

Not needing any further encouragement, Moka greedily dug into Naruto's exposed neck. Oh how she loved the taste of his delectable life fluid. She had even stated on more than one occasion that she thought she was becoming addicted to his blood. Drinking in deep even slurps, it wouldn't be long till she drained her friend dry. It still surprised Tsukune that his male friend could actually stand to lose so much without going comatose. Any normal human would probably have died from such a large amount of blood loss. Luckily, the Namikaze heir was anything but normal.

Realizing that his pink haired friend had once again become lost in her meal, Naruto began to feel a bit lightheaded. Even _his_ healing ability couldn't completely keep up with replenishing the blood he was losing to her. Despite this though, he grinned.

Noticing the sudden smirk on the blonde's face, the Aono teen groaned. He really didn't think it was appropriate the way his friend let the girl know she was getting carried away.

Paying Tsukune's annoyed look no heed; Naruto subtly lifted his hand into position. Then, without warning, he gave Moka's right breast a healthy, full palmed, squeeze. The girl immediately released his neck and jumped back in shock. Ironically, it was she who was apologizing.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "I'm so sorry Naruto-kun! I got so absorbed in the taste of your blood that I completely forgot to pay attention. I didn't take too much did I?"

Despite being a little paler than would be considered healthy, the young man opposite her waved off her concerns with a smile.

"Don't worry about it. I think the system we got worked out is compensation enough for when you get carried away." His eyes briefly flashed to her chest. "I know I enjoy it." At his smug grin, Moka blushed a pink hue to match her hair. Naruto's chuckles filled the air at her embarrassment.

For the life of him, Tsukune could not figure out why the girl let his friend get away with the things he did to or around her. If it was anyone else, he was sure she would slap them. If the dark haired young man was honest with himself though, he would probably admit to being more jealous than annoyed. He was positive there was no way Moka would appreciate him acting like Naruto did around her, even with him being her friend too. His one consolation was that there was no doubt in his mind that the next time the pink haired girl's inner self came out, she would most likely beat the blonde within an inch of his life. She had actually said as much the last time she transformed. That thought alone brought a smile to his face.

Noticing his friend's scowl turn into a grin, Naruto became a bit curious.

"Hey Tsukune, what are you smiling about?"

"Huh" the teen asked, returning from his inner thoughts. "Oh, I was just thinking of something funny. Don't mind me."

"Well…ok." For some reason, Naruto did not feel very comforted by the other boy's words. Nothing good ever came from when he grinned like that.

"Uhm, Naruto-kun…" Moka spoke trying to grab his attention. "You don't look so good. Are you sure I didn't take too much? Do you want us to escort you to the infirmary to get looked at?"

Judging by both of his friends worried looks, the blonde former shinobi thought it might be best to check out what they were talking about. Pulling out a kunai from a hidden pouch in his school uniform, he used it as a modified mirror to look at himself. He was shocked to see just how pasty his complexion actually was. He knew Moka had taken more blood than normal, but he hadn't realized it was to that extent. However, he merely shrugged off their concern.

"Don't worry about it guys. I'll just need to take one of my blood replenishing capsules and I'll be good as new." Unfortunately, when he reached into another hidden pouch he found it to be empty. Apparently he had forgotten to refill it having used a couple during the week. This wasn't the first time the pink haired vampire had gotten carried away. "Sorry Moka, Tsukune, it looks like I got to run back to my dorm. It seems I'm out of capsules right now and need to grab some more there. I'll catch up with you guys later."

Both teens felt a bit concerned though as their friend stood up more than a little shakily. It was obvious he wasn't as fine as he claimed. However, despite their offers to come along, he waved them off.

"Really guys, I'll be fine. You two go do whatever until I get back. It shouldn't take me too long." Looking back at them only once more to ease their troubled looks with a reassuring smile, he proceeded to walk off towards the dilapidated looking building where they lived.

* * *

As Naruto traipsed through the dead looking forest back to the dormitory his mind began to wonder. It had only been a week since he had arrived here at the school, but he could already honestly say that it wasn't near as bad an experience as he had expected it to be. Sure it was a little boring, with the exception of the Saizou incident, and he did miss the thrill of missions, but at the same time it was peaceful. Ironically, he didn't have to watch his back near as much here surrounded by monsters as he did when he lived in his home village.

The true positive thing he enjoyed about coming to Youkai Academy, though, was that he was beginning to feel that he actually had _real_ friends. It was an odd feeling. Sure, back in Konoha he had people he would hangout with after a mission, those he would talk to in the bars, and even women he would hook-up with on a semi-regular basis, but none of them would be what he would call friends. Acquaintances; yes. Comrades; yes. Friends; no.

It all really came down to one of two things. To the younger generation, he was seen as the Yondaime's son first and Naruto second. To the older shinobi and civilians, he was perceived with fear for what they believed him to be.

At a sudden thought, Naruto let a brief snicker escape. _Heh, it's weird, those same two things that kept people distanced from me were the same things that got me laid more times than I can count._

Thinking back on his occasional romps with a kunoichi named Anko Mitarashi, he couldn't help but smile at how she loved the thrill of the thought that she was fucking the terrifying Kyuubi no Kitsune. She really got off on that fear. Literally.

On the other side of the spectrum, he remembered how his prestige as his father's son got more than a few of the younger kunoichi in the sack. In the last year or so before his departure, he had grown to greatly enjoy his sexual escapades with the blossoming Ino Yamanaka. That girl had definitely grown into a rather chesty one.

If for no other reason than the tremendous amount of sex he got while living there, he could almost look over the fact of how shitty the majority of the villagers had treated him growing up. If anyone could have seen his thoughts on the matter, it would have been no surprise he had, on more than one occasion, contemplated just destroying the whole kami-damned village. The only true reason he had refrained was out of respect and love for his father.

Secretly, that was another reason Naruto believed the man had sent him away. With Minato no longer alive, his son no longer had an absolute reason not to simply become a missing-nin or slaughter the entire village should they had pushed him too far. Only his father had the slightest idea of just how much power Naruto truly had.

Pushing those thoughts away, though, the blonde former shinobi focused on his original reflections. Oh yes, friends.

Tsukune and Moka made him feel accepted in a way he had never known before. To them he was just their overprotective, joking, and slight playboy of a friend. He wasn't some heir to a great legacy. He wasn't some embodiment of a legendary beast. He was just Naruto. And that was something he wanted to fight to keep for as long as possible.

Unfortunately, he was also under no allusions as to his true identity, and he knew that he would never _really_ be just Naruto. The best he could hope for was to keep up his charade for as long as possible, for once it disappeared, his life would never again be the same.

_But until then, I'm goin to have one hell of a time._

Letting out a small sigh, Naruto's mind distantly noticed that he had accidentally wondered off the path to the dorms. He had been so deep in self contemplation that he hadn't even been paying attention to where he was going. Stopping in mid-step, he took a brief look around at his surroundings.

"Just great," he grumbled, "I'm lost." As far as he could tell, he was smack dab in the middle of the forest with no real identifying land marks to indicate his position. This was why he tried not thinking too much. It only caused problems.

However, as he continued muttering and cursing himself, still feeling quite lightheaded from Moka's previous feeding, he was surprised to faintly pick up on what sounded like someone moaning somewhere in his vicinity. If he was lucky maybe they could point him in the right direction. That or they were just as lost as him. Taking his chances, he headed towards the source of the voice.

"Oh…ohhh…s-some…one"

The closer he got, the more he could make out the voice. From what he could tell, it sounded distinctly feminine. It eventually led him to a small clearing at the edge of the campus grounds along the outer wall where a small mausoleum was built. There he found the origin of the pleas for help.

She was a petty, blue haired girl who appeared only slightly below average in height. If he had to guess, he would say she was somewhere around the same age as him, maybe younger. She was wearing a tight yellow sweater and had on an obscenely short plaid skirt that all female students wore that did little to hide her thighs. With the way she was positioned at that moment on the ground, he was pretty sure he could even see her panties.

_White cotton. Nice._

The most noticeable attribute about her though, was the sheer monstrous size of her breasts. There was no doubt that this girl was blessed.

It was after that casual observation, though, that the girl of his focus looked up and noticed him. She had some of the most vulnerable violet eyes he had ever seen.

"Help me, please…" she pleaded with him. "Please lend me a hand. I just suddenly started feeling ill." Judging by the way she holding her abdomen and the sweat running down her forehead this was quite obviously the case.

Lightly jogging over to her, Naruto kneeled at her side to get a better look at what was wrong. He was still secretly hoping she knew how to get back to the trail, but was in no way against helping out a pretty girl. The last time he did that, things worked out pretty well for him…well, except for the blood sucking issue.

"Hey, are you ok?" he asked placing a steadying hand on her shoulder. "Do you think you can stand? Do you need to go to the school infirmary?"

The blue haired girl gave him a thankful nod and smile, allowing him to help her to her feet. "Thank you," she told him gratefully. "I've always had a weak body."

It was then that she unexpectedly began to sway a bit. Not wanting her to fall, he quickly grabbed a hold of her arm at which she seemed thankful.

Taking his assistance as permission enough, she then leaned heavily against his frame to support herself better. It didn't escape Naruto's notice that by her doing so, his arm was firmly mashed between her amble breasts.

"My, my chest…it just starts hurting all of a sudden. Please hold me." Moaning, the endowed teen pushed her boobs harder against his body, resting into him further. The feel of her felt absolutely heavenly to the blonde. Her breasts were just so big and soft. At that moment he was seriously considering what it would feel like to squeeze them. If he didn't know better, he would have thought she was doing this on purpose.

_Is she grinding against me!?_

That thought aside, he complied with her wish and placed a protective arm around her shoulder, holding her close.

"Ohhh," she sighed, "My chest feels like it's going to burst!" Doing away with any subtlety she may have been playing with, she began to overtly rub herself against him. Naruto suddenly began to feel that finding her the way he did may have been no accident.

_What the hell is going on?_

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

"Come on Moka" Tsukune complained mildly, "I'm sure Naruto's fine. He said so himself. All he needs is one of those weird pill things of his and he'll be right back to normal. Why do we have to go traipsing through the forest looking for him?" _This place is creepy! _He really didn't understand why Moka was so insistent on checking up on their friend. Sure the guy had been gone a little longer than expected, but more than likely he just got sidetracked flirting with one of his many growing admirers. Or maybe that _was_ the reason why she was so adamant about checking up on him.

By this point both Tsukune and Moka had began to realize how much fun Naruto had flirting with the girls of their school. It was like a game to him. Coupled between his deep sense of self-confidence and ever-increasing mystique, he was actually quite good at it. He never really took it too far, but it was obvious that he enjoyed the attention. Sometimes it seemed he would find himself flirting without even meaning to. This was more often the case than not when he was around Moka. Tsukune couldn't help but feel slightly jealous at how much an affect Naruto's charm had on their beautiful pink haired friend.

At the same time, though, he wasn't really surprised that Moka looked at him differently than the blonde. Despite each of his friends' reassurances, Tsukune still perceived himself as nothing more than an average, mediocre guy. He wasn't even a monster like either of them. Naruto on the other hand seemed to excel at everything. He had the bad boy reputation around school, was funny, had a sense of power that seemed to follow him at all times, and to top it off, he was surprisingly a very intelligent student. What made all this even harder to accept was that the blonde teen didn't even seem to try. His casual attitude about everything just made Tsukune feel worse about himself. Then, every time he briefly became annoyed with his friend for how perfect he seemed, Tsukune would immediately feel even more despondent. Naruto never once tried to rub his strengths in his friends' faces and was in fact a very nice guy. He looked out for the both of them wherever they all went. If it wasn't for him, Tsukune was sure he would have had a much tougher time around school.

So, reluctantly, he just couldn't seem to begrudge Naruto for his growing status as one of the most popular boys in the school, at least among the female students.

"Pleeease Tsukune," Moka pleaded prettily, her bright blue eyes staring at him with her head turned. "I just want to make sure everything's ok. I feel horrible for draining so much of Naruto-kun's blood."

Seeing the cute pout on the pink haired girl's face Tsukune couldn't bring himself to say no. He noticed over the past week that the girl was able to talk him into a lot of things he normally wouldn't consider. All she had to do was flash him one of her bright smiles and he was putty in her hands. Naruto too seemed to have a similar problem around her though, so he didn't feel quite as big a sucker as he probably should.

Sighing, Tsukune caved. "Ok, fine, let's just find the guy so we can get back to the main part of campus." He shivered. "This place gives me the creeps."

"Oh thank you!" she cried, giving him a big, yet a little too strong, hug. When she released him, Tsukune thought she may have bruised a bone. Smiling though, he couldn't help but feel it was worth it.

_Moka really is the greatest and most pretty girl I've ever met. I must be the luckiest guy in the world that she would want to be friends with someone like me._

As the two teens continued to walk through the woods, keeping an eye out for their other friend, they both were rather silent. Occasionally they would talk about some random thing, but nothing substantial. It often seemed without Naruto around that things were a lot quieter, though more peaceful as well. It was after an indefinite period of time that the two of them finally heard what sounded like two other students, one being fairly familiar. Coming out around a bend of trees, Moka and Tsukune immediately spotted bright golden locks that undeniably belonged to their friend. Walking beside him, though, was a girl neither of them recognized. She was leaning heavily on his side holding his arm tight against herself. It looked fairly intimate from where they were standing further back along the trail.

Confusion washed through Moka at who this other girl was and why she looked to be so close with Naruto.

* * *

"Naruto-kun…please look into my eyes."

Without thinking, the young blonde did exactly as the buxom girl requested, stopping in his tracks. He was still so shocked by the way she was acting that he didn't even think about why she would ask such an out of the blue thing. The last woman to act this…_slutty_ towards him would of had to of been Anko. Though, this girl did seem to lack the former's sadistic personality.

Staring deeply into the depths of her entrancing violet orbs, it was almost as if there was a certain pull tugging at his mind. It actually felt pretty good. However, it was only a slight feeling and he easily brushed it off as being nothing more than him becoming aroused by the pretty girl rubbing against him.

_Wait a minute…how does she know my name?_

"I'm Kurono Kurumu," the blue haired young woman introduced herself. "Please be a good friend to me, ok?"

Still staring into her eyes, Naruto gave her one of his most roguish grins. He didn't know exactly what her game was, but he was more than willing to play. No one could beat Namikaze Naruto in a game of seduction.

Kurumu, herself, was a bit taken aback by his response to her charm. The hypnotic trance she had tried to put on him should have left him putty in her hands. No man should have been able to resist the power of a succubus, it was unheard of. Instead, it was she who was suddenly feeling a bit weak in the knees. The way he was grinning at her made him look impossibly handsome at that moment. If she wasn't careful, her plan to convert him into the first of her, soon to be many, love slaves would be blown to hell. She needed him to fall for her, for without him she would be unable to prove herself as the most beautiful girl in school instead of that damn Moka. It was essential that she steal away that pink haired girl's trophy as queen of the academy.

However, the best that Kurumu could accomplish right then was to simply stare dazedly at Naruto's entrancing visage. She just couldn't think properly. Too many things were diverging from her plan.

"Well, Kurumu-chan," the blonde began, his roguish grin transforming into a knowing one, "I think it best that we get back to heading for the infirmary. I believe your condition may be getting worse. Your face has suddenly started turning very red. You may be coming down with a fever."

The blue haired young woman only gave a barely perceptible nod of acceptance to show that she heard him. Before she knew it, the two of them were once again walking along the path towards the school's medical building. Confused, she only had one thought running through her mind.

_What just happened?_

* * *

A few hours later from when she and Tsukune had spotted Naruto in the woods, Moka was standing by herself in the hallway of the main school building. She had wanted to be alone to give herself some time to think. Tsukune had offered to stay with her, but she had declined. After witnessing how intimate Naruto had been earlier with that other girl, she wasn't feeling very social. She had actually been walking all over campus since then and the hallway she was now in was only her latest spot of solitude.

_Who was that girl? What is she to Naruto?_

Those thoughts were the two most prevalent running through her head. Just thinking of the possible answers left her feeling severely depressed.

"They really… looked like lovers, didn't they?" she asked herself aloud. "Totally all over each other like that…" Seeing the image of the two of them together again in her head made her shoulders slump just a tad further.

_What's wrong with me? Why am I taking this as such a shock…? It's not like it's a secret that Naruto likes to flirt with random girls. It's just that this time seemed… different. More… intimate. I wonder…_

"Hey you!"

Startled out of her dismal thoughts, Moka wildly searched around to see who had just shouted. Were they talking to her? There weren't many people around her, so it was a logical guess that they could be. Looking up, she immediately recognized who it was. It was the same blue haired girl that was with Naruto earlier. She was sitting on the railing of the second floor.

Noticing that she had the girl's attention, Kurumu jumped down from where she was and landed smoothly a few feet from her target.

"You… are a _vampire_ right?" she asked in a knowing tone. "That's at least what the rumors say Akashiya Moka-san"

Only slightly surprised that there was already a rumor going around about what kind of monster she was, Moka focused on the matter at hand.

"You! You were the one with Naruto earlier. When did you…?" Before she could finish her question, however, she was cut off by the commotion coming from the crowd of boys that were gathering around the two of them.

"Wow, what a beauty!!"

"Did you see that!? Did you just see that!?"

"She's tiny, but her boobs are _huge_!!"

"Who is she? This girl is incredibly cute too…"

"Who knew there was a girl besides Moka-san like this?"

Disregarding the crowd around them as inconsequential, Kurumu walked right up beside Moka so that the two of them could not be overheard.

"I am the succubus Kurono Kurumu…" Her voice held a challenging edge to it as she spoke. "I…have come to defeat you."

The pink haired teen was shocked by those words.

_Defeat me!? What?_

"Wha… wait a minute, isn't it against the rules to give away your true form?"

The race of succubi were a breed of monsters of the night known since the middle ages. They were the female version of the incubus and appeared in the dreams of sleeping men to seduce them.

The buxom teen's tone was contemptuous as she ignored the other girl's question. "I can't stand it anymore!" she exclaimed. "You're the biggest eyesore in the way of my great plan!"

"…Pla-plan?"

"Huhu…" Kurumu laughed at Moka's ignorance. "Yes, my plan is to make every member of the male student body at this academy completely become my slaves. It is the Youkai Academy harem transformation plan!"

Moka, as well as every other student around them, merely stared on dumbly at hearing the declaration. Was this succubus for real? A harem? It sounded more like something a horny teenage boy would think up for one of his fantasies…well, with the exception of women substituted in for males…unless they went for that kind of thing.

Kurumu didn't seem to notice this reaction at all though.

"My plan was perfect!" she went on. "I should have had every guy at the academy a slave to my beauty right from the start! However!" she paused to breath getting right up into the other girl's face. "Akashiya Moka, the guys at this academy are dreaming about _you_ rather than _me_! I'm not letting you get away with this; I could never lose in a battle of feminine charm!"

All around them the crowd looked on with slightly fearful expressions. Things were getting intense.

"They're arguing…"

"It looks like a heated argument…"

The, now perceived, delusional female continued with her rant.

"That's why I've decided to prove I can defeat you!" she declared. "I'll show that I'm better than you…by stealing Namikaze Naruto-kun from you!"

Moka immediately came out of her stupor at the mention of her blonde friend. It was obvious that this girl was crazy, but if she planned to involve Naruto in some way, something had to be done. Who knew what the mind of a psychopath would think up to get at her Naruto-kun!

"Hey, w-wait, stop, Naruto-kun doesn't have anything to do with this…" she stuttered, trying to convince the buxom young woman in front of her to leave her friend alone. It was to little avail.

"I knew it from the moment we were close earlier," Kurumu explained just loud enough for Moka to hear. "He has a really good scent…just like a _human_!"

At _that_ declaration, Moka completely froze. Naruto? A human? It couldn't be. Could it? Thinking back, she couldn't help but try to remember anything that could have indicated such a thing. But this girl had said he had the scent of a human, didn't she? Focusing on that, the Akashiya heiress attempted to recall the scent of her friend upon the many times she had fed from him. Now giving it serious thought, she had to admit that he did have a distinctly human smell to him. How had she not noticed before? Though, she had to admit that she didn't exactly notice Tsukune was human either until the young man told her outright. Maybe she just didn't want to know? There was no denying that she had more than a slight prejudice-ness towards humans in general.

_But it couldn't be! Naruto-kun behaves just like a normal monster would! He acts nothing like Tsukune. But…what if he is, human…?_

Taking Moka's silence for confirmation, Kurumu continued on digging her nails into her rival just a bit more.

"Is his blood delicious?" she asked mockingly. "You're using Naruto-kun as 'food', aren't you?" She laughed. "Ahahaha, your face when he is taken away from you will be a sight to see!"

"NO!" Moka instinctively cried out. "I'm not using him, I'm…"

"Moka-chan!"

Startled, both girls immediately halted in their debate. Coming down the hall, they both noticed unmistakable golden lochs of hair. The object of their argument had suddenly arrived.

"Ahh, there you are!" Naruto exhaled, smiling and rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry for disappearing for so long earlier. I kinda got lost on my way to the dorms. By the time I finally got one of my pills I tried to find you guys, but I had the damndest time trying to do so." He then paused to briefly look around. "Uhhh, by the way, where's Tsukune?"

Before he could even attempt to get an answer, though, he immediately had a large pair of breasts crushed against his chest and enveloped in a tight hug.

"Ohhhhh, it's Naruto-kun!" Kurumu cried. "Thank you so much for earlier!"

Looking down at the girl around his chest, he briefly took a moment to enjoy the feel of her breasts pressed against him. He didn't doubt that this girl was trying to play him for some reason, but he had to hand it to her for working with the gifts that nature gave her.

_Damn those boobs are soft!_

"Oh, um, hi Kurumu-chan," he greeted. "How are you feeling? I hope you are doing better."

The blue haired girl gave him her best seductive smile for what she perceived as genuine concern coming from him. "I'm feeling great now! I don't know what I would have done if you weren't there to help me. What could I _ever_ do to show you my gratitude?" To emphasise her point, she subtly reached down and teasingly massaged his groin.

Non-pulsed, Naruto was just about to counter back with his own charming/seductive response, but stopped short at feeling the heated emotions coming from a few feet to the left of him. Looking over, he noticed something that he rarely saw.

_Oh shit! Moka looks pissed!_

Thinking a tactical retreat was the better part of valor, he gently eased himself out of the buxom girl's clutches.

"Uhh, sorry, I just remembered I had something to do with Moka-chan. I'll talk to you later, Kurumu-chan, alright?"

The Kurono teen, though, was not about to give up her sought after prize. She tightened her grip, burying her face into his chest.

Moka panicked. "You're being tricked Naruto-kun!" she shouted a tad bit too loudly. "Hurry up and get that girl off you! That Kurumu isn't really your friend!"

"Huh?" the blonde muttered, wondering what his female friend was going on about. Did she know something about all this that he didn't?

"How…how awful." Kurumu uttered in her best attempt at sounding deeply hurt. She swayed against Naruto as she placed the back of her hand to her forehead as if feeling faint. "How can you say such awful things? Ahh…I'm feeling dizzy again. Naruto-kun, I think I need to go to the infirmary again."

As Naruto raised a singular eyebrow at the seductive succubus for her rather overdone performance of acting, his eyes once again met hers and he felt that familiar arousing feeling he had felt earlier that day with her. However, this time it came with a subtle sense of suspicion.

_What the hell is this girl doing to me? It's like every time I look at her, I feel like I'm suddenly going to pop a tent in my pants. Not even Tsunade-chan did that to me and she had the biggest breasts I've ever seen! Could this be some kind of power she has…?_

"P-please believe me…" Moka stuttered in worry and despair as she saw the way the other girl was attempting to manipulate him. "That girl is dangerous! You're going to be eaten by her…"

Brought out of his internal contemplation by his friend's emotional pleas of warning, the Namikaze teen put off his pondering for later. Stepping away from the girl leaning against him, he walked over casually to stand next to Moka. He smiled amusedly as he saw the look of outrage on one girl's face while an expression of relief on the other. Did these people really believe he could be controlled by something as little as a bit of sexual manipulation? He felt insulted.

"What are you doing!" Kurumu yelled angrily at him. "Do you plan to just leave me here when I'm feeling ill!? I thought you were going to help me!"

Naruto smiled placatingly as if talking to a child who was not getting their way.

"Sorry, but like I said, I have plans with Moka-chan. If you're really feeling that sick, I'm sure one of these other fine guys would be more than willing to escort you." Waving his hand in front of him, he indicated to the large crowd of young men around them who all seemed to perk up at the prospect of getting to help the very pretty Kurono Kurumu. He then placed a deliberate arm around the pink haired girl next to him. "Now if you will excuse us. We really should be going. I'll see you later, okay?"

Not really waiting for a response, Naruto turned with Moka and walked away down the hall, the crowd parting for the two teens. It didn't escape his notice as he did so that the other girl was practically staring daggers at the two of them. Regardless, he didn't really worry about it. It was just another instance of a pissed off woman in his life. He was sure she would get over it. Right?

As she watched the two of them walk away, Kurumu was a mass of seething rage.

_Just you wait Naruto, you _will_ be mine!_

* * *

It was a little while later when Moka and Naruto sat down together in the cafeteria, side by side, each with their own tray of food. Neither really had any plans of what to do, but since it was around dinner time, and Naruto being hungry, they settled on having something to eat. While Moka didn't _technically_ require normal food to sustain herself, so long as she fed on blood regularly enough, she did like to indulge herself every now and then with the taste of normal meals. Well, that and she liked to have something to eat to go with her can of tomato juice. She absolutely loved that stuff! The only thing better was Naruto's actual blood.

As they sat there in silence, neither saying a word, they both began picking at their food. Since leaving the confrontation in the hallway, an awkward miasma had seemed to of been following them. It was apparent to Naruto that something was bothering his pink haired friend, but for the life of him he could not figure out what. The only clue he had was that it had to do with him. She was constantly sneaking curious and confused glances at him when she thought he wasn't paying attention. Whatever it was, it was starting to make him too feel rather uncomfortable. Maybe she was embarrassed about the way she yelled out the things she said about that Kurumu girl?

The blonde sighed mentally.

_Man, this sucks. Screw it!_

"So…" he began, breaking the silence while searching for something to say as he looked over at her. "What did you and Tsukune do while I was gone earlier?"

As if broken out of some deep internal contemplation, the teen vampire stared at him rather perplexed until her mind finally caught up with what he said.

"Huh? Oh, um, nothing much. Why?"

"No reasons really," he shrugged. "I was just curious. I kinda expected to see Tsukune too when I saw you in the hallway. Where is he?"

"He decided to go back to his room," she answered easily enough. "Since we weren't really doing anything important while you were gone, he said he had some homework that he should try to get done. Something about having trouble with math."

While this _was_ true, Moka had failed at the time to see that this was more of an excuse for Tsukune so as not to seem so disappointed when she told him that she wanted to be alone. He would have more than preferred to spend his time hanging out with her than shut up in his room trying to work on school work that he wasn't even that motivated to do. Her moping about Naruto had really put him in a rather depressed mood too.

"Hmm," Naruto murmured aloud thoughtfully, "maybe I should see if he needs help sometime. I could try working with him a bit." Sitting there, he let his mind wonder to other things like helping Tsukune with his classes. Moka didn't really seem that interested in conversation and he was about to resign himself to go back to eating in awkward silence.

Suddenly, though, something perked the Akashiya teen's curiosity.

"Um, Naruto-kun," she began, looking at him strangely, "can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it?

"Didn't you say once that the academy you went to in your home village didn't focus too much on things like science and math?"

"Well, not exactly," he answered, somewhat surprised by the question. He didn't really talk much about his life back in Konoha and his comment a few days before about his old academy was only a trivial fact he mentioned when he was talking with his two friends about their past schools. He thought nothing of it at the time. "We did learn a bit on academic subjects, but my academy was more of a vocational school. We focused more on developing our trade for our future profession. Why?"

"It's just that you seem to be adapting very well to classes considering you've said yourself that you haven't been taught much on what Youki attempts to teach here. I guess I'm just surprised that you've been doing so well."

"Ah," Naruto spoke, realizing what his pretty friend was getting at. If he was in her position, he supposed he would be a little curious also. He settled on giving her one of his charming smiles. "Let's just say I have my own little studying trick. I have a way of picking up on new things quite quickly if I need to."

A look of concern appeared on Moka's face at hearing his cryptic response. The Namikaze heir, though, seemed to pick up on what she was most likely thinking.

"Don't worry, it's not anything that would get me in trouble if found out. I just like to keep a few surprises to myself. Keeps people guessing."

Having been read so easily, the pink haired young woman blushed in embarrassment for thinking he would do such a thing. It was ironic since if the situation called for it, Naruto actually had no reservations at all of cheating on a test. It would be just another example of covert information gathering to achieve a certain end. In this instance though, he had an easier and more legitimate way of achieving the grades he now had.

Not much left to say on the subject, the two teens once again settled into silence. Moka could sporadically distract herself by trying to talk with Naruto, but she kept remembering what that Kurono girl had said earlier.

"_I knew it from the moment we were close earlier… he has a really good scent…just like a _human_!"_

Could it really be true? And if it was, why wouldn't he tell her? Tsukune had, and she still wanted to be friends with him. So why would Naruto keep it such a secret? Did he not trust her? The mere thought of that sent a deep sense of sadness and disappointment to her very core. The more she thought about it, the more she began to realize that she really didn't know all that much about him at all. Besides her natural observations of how he acted, she knew next to nothing about who he was. He practically never talked about his past. Why was he so secretive? What could be so important that he couldn't open up to her?

"Naruto-kun, how do you know Kurumu?" She kept her head lowered, refusing to look him in the eye.

"What?"

"It's just…you and her seemed very close."

The blonde sighed. Was this what was bugging her this whole time? The situation really was unfortunate. Despite what she and Tsukune may have believed, Naruto really wasn't as oblivious to the way she felt about him as they seemed to think. He was well aware of the fact that Moka was slowly developing quite the crush on him. If she was anyone else, he would more than likely even take immediate advantage of this. She was incredibly attractive after all. However, as it stood, she was one of the only two real friends he had ever had and that was something he was not willing to mess up. He just couldn't bring himself to use her in the same way as he had all the other women in his life up to that point. She was not just some fuck buddy to him. He really, truly cared for her. At the same time, though, he could never allow himself to become anything more with her. He could never allow himself to become like that with anyone, not with who and what he was. It would just never work out.

"Moka-chan, look at me." He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. Reluctantly, she did meet his gaze. "There is nothing going on between her and I. She is just another one of those silly girls who are after my attention."

Still not quite convinced, doubt still seemed to shine in the Akashiya heiress' eyes.

"Are you sure?" she asked. "It's just that you both seem a lot more… intimate than you are with other girls. I thought maybe there might be something more going on there."

"Believe me," he assured, "the only thing 'more' is the fact that she is a lot _more_ pushy than other girls so far. She thinks she has a chance by seducing me somehow. She has no clue who she is actually dealing with. It will take a lot more skill than she has to enamor me."

"Really?"

"Really."

Moka allowed a small smile to grace her lips at hearing that. It wasn't much considering the other issue plaguing her mind, but it was something.

"I'm glad," she told him truthfully, the happiness subtle yet clear in her voice. "But, Naruto-kun, you need to be careful around her. She's trying to use you!"

"What do you mean?"

"She has some crazy plan where she thinks that by making you fall in love with her, she will be able to take over the school and make all the male students her slaves!"

Naruto stared blankly at her for a few seconds trying to process the logic behind that statement.

_What the hell?_

"Um, I don't think I quite follow what you're saying. What do you mean she wants to turn all the male students into her slaves?"

Just trying to explain it, Moka felt a bit foolish. A small blush blossomed across her cheeks, something that seemed to happen regularly when she was around him. "She thinks that by gaining the reputation of most beautiful girl here that she will be able to turn all the boys into her own private harem. I know it sounds crazy, but that's exactly what she said!"

The former shinobi once again paused to look at her strangely before finally raising a singular eyebrow.

"Seriously? I mean, I knew she was playing at something. But a harem? We're talking about a real _harem_, right?" He still wasn't quite sure he believed her. It seemed too ridiculous to be true.

"Yes," she confirmed, "Kurumu sounded quite sincere in her plan."

"…"

"…"

"Wow…just, wow."

Neither teen said a word while Naruto tried to wrap his mind around what he had learned. Eventually though, he smirked, then snickered, which then evolved into an actual laugh.

Moka looked at him with concern for his sudden odd behavior. "Is everything ok?" she asked him. "You do realize that, that girl is serious about trying to control you, don't you?"

"Oh, I am quite aware of that," he chuckled. "This just makes the game we're playing so much more fun! There is nothing more entertaining than dealing with a woman who is obviously insane. It keeps things interesting."

The pink haired young woman wasn't exactly sure he knew what he was getting himself into, but she was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Now, if she could only bring herself to ask him about the other issue on her mind. Unfortunately, she just couldn't bring herself to broach the subject and she wasn't sure why. Was she scared to find out what his answer would be or was she afraid he wouldn't answer her at all? Regardless, the point was moot.

After that, the atmosphere around the two was a lot more pleasant. There was still something there, but it was manageable. They talked to each other about other random, less drama filled topics and finished their meal. By the time they were done, it was getting late and they both decided it was best they get to their respective rooms. Neither suspected that their night was far from over.

* * *

Standing in front of Moka's door, Naruto and the room's occupant stared at each other in semi-comfortable silence. The blonde former shinobi had decided to walk his pretty female friend back to her dorm since it was only one story above his own. The building they were living in was coed and only separated by floors. The bottom half was for the boys and the top, the girls'. Naruto just happened to be staying on the top level of the boys' half.

Not much really to say, the Namikaze heir gave the girl opposite him a tired smile. It had been a somewhat long day even if it wasn't very physically strenuous.

"Well," he began, "I guess this is good night Moka-chan. See you tomorrow morning, alright? We can catch up with Tsukune in homeroom and think up something fun to do. This weekend was kind of a bust, wasn't it?"

Without warning the pink haired teen enveloped him in a vampire enhanced crushing hug before, just as quickly, releasing him. Naruto was a bit surprised by the sudden embrace.

"I just…" she tried to explain. "Be careful, ok Naruto-kun? I don't think Kurumu is the kind of girl to give up so easily on something she wants. I don't know what she will do if she realizes she won't be able to get her way." It was clear by the look of worry in her eyes that the vampire teen was very serious. So much so, that Naruto couldn't bring himself to tease her for what he believed was her being overprotective. Instead, he decided it was best to try putting her mind at ease, or at least as much as he could.

"Don't worry so much," he told her. "Everything will be fine. Believe me; if worst comes to worst, I can take care of myself. Nothing is going to happen, you'll see."

Not really sure what to think, Moka only gave him a slight nod of partial acceptance. Turning around, she opened her door and with only one last "night", she walked in and closed it.

Breathing out a sigh, Naruto placed his hands behind his head and looked up at the ceiling in exhaustion.

"Shikamaru was right, nothing but trouble."

* * *

Finally back outside his own room, Naruto let a small yawn escape his mouth and blinked back the fatigue weighing down his eyes. The mere thought of sleep brought a smile to his face. He could really use some of that right now. He had to hand it to her, that Kurumu sure did know how to make an impression. It had been awhile since any girl had forcibly caught his attention in such a way as she did. Despite her being somewhat similar to his other, what he liked to call, 'fan-girls', she did have that little extra something to her that made her interesting. Maybe he just had a thing for attracting the crazies? After all, his only female friend did just happen to be a vampire with a split personality.

_Whatever_

Shaking his head of such thought's, Naruto reached for his door handle and casually opened it, stepping inside. As soon as he entered though, he was struck dumb by the site that greeted him and distantly noticed the sound of his door closing behind him of its own accord. There laying sprawled out, smack dab in the middle of his bed, in one of the most relaxed provocative poses he had ever seen, which was saying something considering who he was, was none other than Kurono Kurumu. She was wearing nothing more than a skimpy black lace negligee that failed miserably at coving anything of importance. Her breasts were practically falling out the top! Naruto couldn't seem to take his eyes off her as she lay there looking right back at him with a knowing sexy smile.

"Oh Naruto-kuuun," she cooed at him, "I was feeling soooo lonely after you left me by myself earlier. Could you pleeease keep me company tonight? I really don't want to be alone."

The Namikaze heir couldn't bring himself to say a thing as he continued to just stand there and stare. At that moment there was a raging inferno of turmoil burning inside him.

_Oh kami damn mother fucker! You have got to be fucking kidding me!_

This was just his luck. Right before him, he had a perfectly willing, sexy, busty, lingerie wearing, teenage girl, and he had to actually fight, _fight_ to keep himself from ravishing her where she lay. It was taking every ounce of willpower he had to do just that. This was made all the harder since he had not attempted to get himself laid even once since arriving at this female overrun, short skirt wearing, cursed academy. He had recently even decided against sleeping around while he was here just so he wouldn't hurt his very close friend Moka. However, he never expected to be faced with a situation like this!

Seeing that he wasn't about to move, the barely dressed succubus languidly crawled off of the bed and to her feet. As she then slowly made her way towards him, sashaying her hips from side to side, Naruto's eyes completely locked on to her chest. With each step she made, her breasts bounced ever teasingly so as to make it appear as if both were practically about to pop free. The smirk of the busty femme fatale was devilish.

It wasn't until she was right upon him that the blond haired teen quite realized the predicament he was in.

_This is…not good._

Before all this, Naruto had thought her attempts of seduction of being laughable at best. They had been nothing more than the efforts of an, admittedly above average, flirty schoolgirl. Now though, the game had been kicked up to a whole new level. He was indeed treading upon dangerous ground.

Unable to put up any form of a conscious fight, he was gently pulled back towards the bed and pushed upon his back. Not wasting a second, Kurumu lasciviously crawled atop his chest, paying special attention to grind her crotch against his groin along the way. Naruto was unable to hold back the groan of pleasure that raced through his body.

"Do you like that?" she asked in a mockingly sweet voice. "I am going to bring you such pleasure that you can't even begin to imagine. When I'm done with you, you _will_ be mine. You won't even think of wanting any other girl." Looking him directly in the eyes once more, she added to her seduction by casting the most powerful charm available to her.

As Naruto stared up at the dominating beauty atop him, he once again began to feel that familiar sense of heightened arousal. His entire body felt as if it had suddenly become ultra sensitive to every caress and grind she made against him. Unlike the previous times before, however, he was unable to ignore the intruding sensation overcoming him. The longer he peered into Kurumu's entrancing violet orbs, the stronger the feeling became. He felt lightheaded, as if he was slowly losing all rationale inside his mind. Little by little he began to relax, giving more and more of himself over to his seductress. It would be so easy to just give in…

_NO!_

As if a cold bucket of water had abruptly been doused upon him, the blonde former shinobi jerked his mind back into his own possession. _No one_ controlled Namikaze Naruto but himself! He wasn't sure what it was, but something at the back of his mind reacted with extreme vehemence when he was about to lose himself completely. He could barely remember the last time he had experienced anything like it. It was practically primitive in feeling.

Pushing the busty succubus away from him, Naruto jumped off the mattress and stood to his feet. He looked about as shocked at what he had done, and almost done, as the girl now sitting on her rear at the end of the bed. She had been just about to kiss him when he suddenly freaked out, overreacting, and flung her away.

"Oh shit!" he exclaimed. "Kurumu, are you ok? I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…well, I did, but I didn't. You surprised me!" Looking at her disheveled state, he was reminded once more of how little she was wearing.

"Uhg," she groaned, shaking her head free of the sudden disorientation. "What the hell was that for!"

"I said I was sorry," he countered back defensively. Seeing her still trying to get her head together, he sighed. "Look, I think it would be best if you left. Believe me, if things were different, I would love nothing more than to…uh, take you up on your very desirable offer. But as things are now, you are just wasting your time. Forgive me."

Jerking her head upright, staring directly at him, the blue haired young woman's eyes lit with a sudden fire of righteous rage.

"_You_…are asking _me_…to _leave_?" A deadly edge of incredulousness was tinting her voice as she spoke in a low tone. "You are asking a girl like _me_ to leave when I am practically offering _you_ myself on a silver platter? I am prepared to _fuck your brains out_ and you want me to go?!"

Hearing her put it into such blatant terms; Naruto had to stop to think for a second.

_Am I really turning down getting laid by this chick? Kami, I just know I'm going to regret this. I am so glad Ero-sennin isn't here. He would never let me live this down._

"Yes, Kurumu-san, that is exactly what I'm saying. Please leave."

The young woman could no longer bring herself to look at the man she had attempted to ensnare. Never before had she been so absolutely rejected. Never before had she tried so hard to attract a man she desired. She had even gone so far as to offer him her entire body and he turned her down. She had offered him something she had never once even considered giving any guy before and he, in turn, decided to throw her efforts right back in her face, humiliating her…

"Do you… do you hate me that much?" she asked staring down at the bed. Her voice was so soft, so hurt sounding, that he could barely hear her. "Is _she _so much better than me?" Looking up, her eyes met his. He could clearly see the tears barely held in check and noticed as her voice grew progressively louder as she spoke.

"I did everything I could for you!" she yelled suddenly at him. Burying her face in her hands, her body began to shake. "Even though the things I did were so embarrassing!"

Naruto watched transfixed as she appeared to go into some kind of seizure like state. Without further warning then, two monstrous, bat like wings shot forth from her back, ripping straight through her thin lingerie.

_Shit. I got a feeling this isn't going to be good._

"Until now, I'd never lost to anyone…" the transforming teen continued to speak, though no longer to him it seemed. Her crumpled wings flexed experimentally. "If only Akashiya Moka wasn't here…"

There was a momentary pause before…

"Ohh, now I'm pissed!" Leaping into the air, Kurumu bared her new razor sharp elongated finger-nails directly at the blue-balled young man. "I'm going to destroy everyone that has anything to do with that bitch!"

In shock, yet a little intrigued, Naruto scarcely had time to react as the enraged succubus soared directly for him, intent on shredding him limb from limb. He just barely managed to deflect her bladed hands from eviscerating him, but was unable to do a thing about her forward momentum. Having been standing in front of his dorm room's window, he was also incapable of keeping himself from being forcefully jettisoned directly through the sealed opening, shattering the glass all around him as he fell.

It was far too soon when his decent came to an abrupt, and more than slightly painful, end. All he could do for the first few moments was stare blearily back up at the hole from which he was so unexpectedly ejected from. Laying on the ground, face up, with the ruined remains of his poor window scattered all around, he gained a new appreciation for just how high up four stories truly was. It was finally his apprehensive realization that he couldn't see where his attacker had disappeared to that convinced him that he could worry about nursing his wounds later.

_This glass in my skin sure does itch like a bitch though._

Standing shakily to his feet, the bruised, cut, and slightly bleeding former shinobi looked around cautiously at his surroundings. At the moment he was in the courtyard behind the dorm building, but due to the late hour he seemed to be alone…with the exception of wherever the crazy bitch was hiding.

Unsurprisingly, it was the exact instant that he began to think that the lethal, busty seductress had actually disappeared that his trained sense of danger alerted him of a swiftly coming attack. He only managed to dodge her spear-like jab by inches that, had it hit, would have gutted him quite severely. Leaping back a good several feet, he watched as his attacker ripped her hand back out of the ground with a snarl from where it had stuck upon missing him.

"Oh come on!" he whined imploringly. "Can't we just put this behind us?!"

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

Rushing him a second time, Kurumu made another swipe with her bladed nails that once again missed him, but managed to slice cleanly across his school jacket. The unfortunate piece of clothing was clearly beyond any hope of repair.

"That was my best coat you fucking psycho!" the blonde shouted, jumping into a nearby tree, on top of a rather thick branch. "I swear, I've never had a woman get so pissed just because I wouldn't slip her the sausage." At that he paused. "Though, I guess I'm not usually one to say no either…" If the situation was any less serious, the thoughtful expression on his face would have been comical.

As she watched the casual way he was dealing with her heated attempts to slice him to pieces, the enraged female's fury only grew.

"Are you making fun of me?!" she roared. Flying like a bullet up to meet him, she made to sever him sternum to groin. Her form was almost a blur as she soared through the air with deadly intent. Oh, how she would love nothing more than to rip that smug smile off his face.

For Naruto's part, he was almost enjoying himself. There was no doubt that this girl was powerful, much more so than Saizou or the other monsters he had dealt with since then, but at the same time it was obvious she was not used to making use of her power in this way. Saizou had actually been more of a threat simply because of his noticeable experience at fighting. The brute made frequent use of misdirection so he could catch his opponent with that sinisterly devious tongue of his. This flying she-demon simply charged head on, telegraphing her every attack. Her greater strength and speed meant nothing when he could predict what she was about to do long before she probably even realized it.

So it was no surprise when he easily sidestepped her latest onslaught, not even needing to jump from the tree he was standing on. It was regrettable, however, that he did not anticipate the sharpness of those nails or just how forceful her swipes were. In shocked horror, he watched as her claws cleanly cut through the large branch, severing it from the rest of the tree, and causing him to fall along with it.

As soon as his back hit the ground, stars exploded before his eyes and the breath in his lungs left him in one quick expulsion. He tried to get up immediately, but he couldn't seem to get his body to do what he wanted. It was on shaky legs that he forced himself to his feet. The world seemed to spin around him as he stood disoriented upon the ground. Reaching his hand behind his head to rub the aching pain he felt there, he noticed something wet. When he pulled his hand back before his face, he saw it was covered in blood. More than likely, he had hit his head on a rock or something and had cracked his skull enough to give him a concussion of some level. That would explain why he was having such a hard time focusing.

Kurumu grinned. She had meant to slice him in two, but seeing the fallout of her missed attack, she couldn't help feeling a deep sense of satisfaction. That would teach the jerk not play around with her like that.

However, as she watched him slowly stagger to his feet, her anger grew once more. He was _still_ making fun of her. There was no way such a short drop could have affected him so. Hell, he survived a four story fall from his dorm room no problem. He had to be playing it up now just to mock her. That was the only explanation it could be. So, blinded by rage, she leapt into the air once again a swooped towards him for another attack.

Naruto was still trying to blink the blurriness from his eyes when his instincts sent him a sharp sense of danger approaching. He tried to command his body to turn, but it wouldn't listen. His head was too foggy. He couldn't even get his neck to turn so he could see behind him. It was taking all of his will power just to remain standing. As he was, he never stood a chance.

Plunging swiftly through the air, the seconds seemed to slow to a crawl for the obsessed succubus. With each bit of distance that shrunk between the two of them, the more perplexed she became at why he was refusing to defend himself. He had to be planning something…that had to be it, right? She steeled herself. Cocking her arm back, needle sharp nails poised, the moments passed further. She was practically atop him, yet still he had not made the attempt to move. Committed to the assault, there was only one thing she could do.

Thrusting her arm forward, she felt a strange, warm, and wet sensation. It took her a full moment to even realize what had occurred. That was when time froze. To her complete shock, and unexplainable horror, her attack had hit him dead-on. Her hand managed to easily pierce his chest directly through the center. On one side of him was her, and on the other was her soaked hand dripping the unnaturally crimson blood of the person she had been trying to make pay for humiliating her.

Unable to cope with what had just happened; she quickly yanked her arm back out of his chest. It felt cold in the wind with the way it was drenched in the blonde's life giving liquid. She watched transfixed as he merely stood there as if he himself could not believe what had happened. That was when time resumed once more.

Naruto toppled over to the cold, hard ground, lifeless…dead.

* * *

Sitting in bed, Moka's mind refused to give her any semblance of peace. It was still racing a mile a minute with worries and questions concerning a certain blond haired boy that had quickly become a large part of her life. No matter how hard she tried, she could not shake the feeling that the situation with Kurono Kurumu was far from over. In addition to that, she also still had no answers in regard to what the girl had said about Naruto being a human. Why did everything have to be so complicated in her life? Things were supposed to be simple here, so much more so than at her previous school.

With a sigh of frustration, the pink haired teen flopped onto her back exasperatedly.

"What am I going to do?" she asked herself aloud.

Sometimes she really wished Naruto could be more like her other friend. With the exception of that one incident, Tsukune didn't have any major secrets that he kept from her; he didn't cause her life to be filled with such drama. Naruto, on the other hand, was a complete mystery. She, more often than not, felt she knew absolutely nothing about him. It was almost like the way he normally acted in public and around her was nothing more than a façade, something he put forth to keep people at a distance. The thought that he believed he couldn't trust her hurt her deeply. They were supposed to be friends, right?

It was right as she thought this that a loud shattering crash broke her out of her troubled contemplation.

Startled, Moka immediately sat up in bead, her head looking side to side in trying to discern from where the noise had come. It sounded close…maybe, outside?

Rushing to the window, she gazed out into the open courtyard and was horrified to find Naruto laying on the ground, cut up, and surrounded by shards of broken glass.

"Oh no," she gasped. What or who could have done this to him?

It seemed her mind had completely shut down from the shock, since, as she stood at her window, she was unable to do anything but look on at the scene. As if Naruto himself were in some sort of daze, she watched as he slowly rolled over to his front and shakily push his body to its feet. He then began looking all around, seemingly in search of something, most likely whoever did this to him.

_Did he actually fall from his dorm room?_

The thought that he had just hit the ground from four stories up struck her. If Naruto really was human, that most certainly meant that he had to at least have a few bones broken. Humans were supposed to be rather frail right? What if he was bleeding internally?! He needed to get to the infirmary, immediately!

Instead of doing exactly that, though, he suddenly leapt to his left with an ease completely at odds with the injuries he should have been suffering from. At the same time, Moka's eyes widened as she witnessed that his actions just narrowly managed to keep him from being skewered from above. Her eyes widened further when she saw that it was actually the blue haired girl from earlier who was the one attacking. She mentally cursed herself for not being more adamant about her worries concerning Kurono Kurumu. She had actually begun to think that she might have been overreacting with the way Naruto had assured her everything would be fine. Now she was being forced to watch as her friend fought for his life.

**Foolish girl! If you do not hurry to come to his aid, he will most surely die!**

"Wha?" she exclaimed feeling a pull around her neck.

**I said you must make haste or the perverted blonde one is going to be killed by the blue haired temptress!**

Her hand went to her mouth, Moka was astonished. "What's going on… a voice coming from the rosary?"

**Naïve one, I am the other side of your personality sealed away within this rosary. I am using it as a medium through which to talk to you from deep within your psyche. However, this will mean little if you do not heed what I am telling you to do. That girl is a succubus, and if our suspicion that your friend is indeed a human then he does not stand a chance. Without our help he is doomed!**

Looking out the window one more time the pink haired vampire witnessed the front of Naruto's jacket being shredded, he himself only barely managing to avoid being sliced in two. Not needing any further encouragement, she raced from her room and ran as fast as her legs would carry her to the stairwell. She took two and three stairs at a time in her rush for the bottom. By the time she hit the ground floor she was frantic to get to his side. Hurrying to the exit, she stumbled at the doors leading to the courtyard and fell through with a loud bang. She hit the ground outside hard and groaned in slight pain.

Gazing up from her place on her hands and knees, she was struck in the face with horror. As if in slow motion she saw Kurumu swooping down through the air, her deadly nails poised, straight for Naruto who seemed to be in some kind of shaky state of being. What felt like minutes passing before her eyes were, in reality, only moments. The enraged succubus plummeted faster and faster, while her blonde friend merely stood there wobbling back and forth incomprehensibly. The distance continued to shrink between the two until at the last second Kurumu thrust her hand forward, piercing directly through the center of his chest. Blood was everywhere.

Slowly, time resumed at it's natural pace and Naruto fell to the ground dead before her eyes.

…

…

"NARUUTOOO!!!"

* * *

Looking down at the body before her, Kurumu could not come to terms with what had just happened. There was no way; no way could that insufferable bastard be dead. Hell, he was making a fool of her with ease during the entire course of their fight, if it could even really be called that. It had all been so one-sided in his favor that it seemed no matter what she did, she could do nothing to even hurt him, much less kill. In the beginning she didn't even want injure him too bad, only maybe beat him to a pulp and make him bleed a little. That had seemed an appropriate response for humiliating her the way he did. Why couldn't he just submit to her like any normal guy? He should have been honored that she would allow him to be the first boy she gave her body to. Now she was left standing over his still prone form, stained in his still warm blood. She felt…dirty, like she would never be clean. She had _killed_, _murdered_. How had things escalated to this point?

Meanwhile, only a handful of meters away, Moka too was fighting with her disbelief of what she had just seen.

_N-Naruto…he, he can't be…no…_

Looking through the bleary haze of her tear filled eyes, the young vampire continued to stare at the recently impaled form of one of the only two friends she had ever had. The world grew distant as she lost herself in the sight before her. There was just no way that he could really be gone. He was supposed to be _her_ protector, the one who watched out for her and Tsukune. He was their knight who made sure no harm ever came to them. But now…now he was just a friend that she would never again get to speak to, to be made to laugh by one of his ridiculous jokes, or to be embarrassed by his relentless teasing. She would never again get to have that comforting feeling of safety just by him being at her side…

"Damn, she ran me through good. That would have really hurt if that had actually been me."

At the sound of the impossibly familiar voice, Moka's head whipped around like a serpent. Her eyes bulged at the unbelievable sight before her. Somehow she was staring at the blond haired, blue eyed face of none other than her deceased friend Naruto. He was merely looking calmly, though slightly impressed, at the scene of where he had just died.

"N-Naruto…?"

Moka's voice seemed to catch his attention as he turned towards her rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.

"Oh, hey Moka-chan," he greeted with a half smile that faltered only slightly. "Uhh, not to sound unhappy to see you, but what are you doing out here?" It was obvious by the shifting of his eyes that he already knew the answer to his question.

Standing slowly to her feet, the pink haired vampire took a tentative step in his direction. Reaching out the palm of her hand, she hesitantly placed it against the side of his cheek as if trying to confirm that he was not an illusion. She felt the warmth and solidity of his face.

"You're real," she whispered.

Not needing any further confirmation, Moka flung her arms around him, squeezing his torso with all her might. The tears renewed again, only this time they were of joy and relief. He was real. He was alive!

"I…I thought you were dead," she sniffled against his broad chest, her voice muffled by his shirt.

As if knowing exactly what she needed, Naruto too wrapped his arms around her, engulfing her against him further. He felt horrible for what he had inadvertently put her through. This was not how he had meant for things to go. She was never meant to see him fighting tonight. Hell, he had merely wanted to let Kurumu work out her anger against him without anyone being seriously hurt. It didn't matter to him even if she was serious about killing him. It was one of his odd quirks that he firmly believed against ever killing a beautiful woman. It was one of his top five rules of life actually, right under always making sure a woman comes before oneself in bed and above always making sure to bring toilet paper when going on a mission in the wilderness. Wise rules to live by indeed.

Rules of life aside though, Naruto now had a serious problem on his hands. With Moka now out here with him, he couldn't simply remain casually dodging Kurumu's attacks until she wore herself out. What was he going to do?

* * *

Unable to bring herself to stare at the body in front of her any longer, Kurumu turned her head away. She just couldn't take it. Slowly, the world too seemed to come back to her. She began to once again notice her surroundings. It was late, the moon shining overhead, and a crisp chill was deepening in the wind. She should go. She wanted nothing more than to put this behind her as simply a horrible dream that she could forget. However, that was before she suddenly saw _them_.

For a moment, she couldn't bring herself to believe her eyes. Standing almost a dozen meters away from her, next to an unmistakable pink headed girl, was the man she had just killed! There was no way! It couldn't be! Quickly looking behind herself, Kurumu was stunned to see the impaled body gone! Her mind froze, unable to think until a realization hit her.

_THAT BASTARD! THOSE TWO PLANNED THIS ALL ALONG!_

It was the only explanation she could think of, given the observations she had to work with. The thought that the two teens had set out to make fun of her even more than they already had, blazed through the young succubus' mind. They had purposefully faked Naruto's death to make a fool of here! Here she was distraught over what she thought she had just done and they were playing a prank on her. A rage she had never known before lit within her and her eyes burned with a fiery fury.

"I'M GOING TO DESTROY YOU BOTH!"

* * *

"I'M GOING TO DESTROY YOU BOTH!"

Naruto's head snapped up at the sound of a certain succubus' shrieking voice. His heart fell into his stomach when he realized that his crazed fan-girl had finally spotted not only him, but Moka as well. Why did Murphy always have to treat him like his bitch?

Moka too seemed to realize the danger they were in as she looked up at him with alarm. The relief and joy she was feeling only moments ago was completely wiped away only to be replaced with dread.

"Naruto, you must take off my rosary now!" she pleaded franticly. "It's the only way I can protect us!"

Naruto looked at her warily as if unsure that was the best of ideas.

"I don't know," he hedged, "I'm pretty sure your other self doesn't like me much. You sure we really need her help?"

Moka looked at him incredulous. "This isn't the time for games" she pleaded desperately. "I can't take it off myself! I need you to release my seal like Tsukune did!"

Kurumu had just launched herself into the air once again and set her sights on the two of them. Diving swiftly, she only barely missed the two teens due to Naruto knocking himself and Moka to the ground. The enraged succubus' swipe instead struck a nearby tree, slicing it in two.

Both hurrying quickly to their feet, Moka grabbed Naruto roughly.

"Hurry Naruto, take it off now or we're both going to be killed!"

Only hesitating briefly, he finally gave in. The only other option he had now would be to draw on his yoki and he really didn't want to do that with people around that he had no intention of killing. Reaching out, he grasped hold of Moka's necklace and tugged.

*Ku-clink*

…

*Ku-clink*

…

"What the hell!" Naruto yelled, wide eyed. "The damn thing won't come off!"

No matter how hard he pulled, Moka's rosary would not release itself from around her neck. At his exclamation, said young woman's eyes locked on with his in growing disbelief and horror.

"What do you mean!" she shouted fearfully. "It should have come off no problem. It worked fine for Tsukune!"

"Well _sorry_!" he countered back sarcastically, equally growing desperate with the situation. "Maybe you'd like to go ask him if he could help us out for a bit! I'm sure the homicidal succubus trying to tear us limb from limb wouldn't mind waiting till you got back!"

Naruto once again was forced to grab hold of Moka roughly and dive to the side, out of the way of another of Kurumu's latest sweeps from the air. If things didn't change soon, he wasn't sure what was going to happen. It was nowhere near as easy trying to protect both Moka and avoiding their attacker as it had been when he just had to worry about himself.

_Oh, fuck it! I'm tired of this shit!_

He had one last idea, but it hit far too close to home than he wanted to risk. However, it seemed he had little choice but to do so now…he just hoped it actually worked.

Reaching deep inside, Naruto searched for that dark hidden place within himself that housed what he was once again forced to call upon. It was that which would always separate him from being normal, whether it be by human, or even ayashi, standards. Yet, however, as he grasped hold of the raw primal power that was his own, it felt like he was coming home, like he was once again becoming whole after being shattered and torn for far too long. It was _intoxicating_.

Reluctantly, though, he was forced to restrain himself. It was not the unrestrained full might of his inner essence that he needed at this moment. No, it was only a fraction. Only the most minute of that deep well of power was required for what he intended. Forcefully channeling that which he now grasped, he willed it to his desired destination.

As Moka despairingly kept her attention on where the crazed succubus would come for them from next, she was never given the chance to notice as Naruto's hand began to glow with a deep, malevolent, red aura. As if growing in power, it progressively pulsed faster and faster until it was alight with steady intensity. That was when he reached out once again and grasped hold of her rosary.

* * *

Hovering in midair, Kurumu's eyes narrowed in annoyance. She was well past the point of being pissed because those two refused to stay still and submit to her anger fueled vengeance. She was just beginning another dive when she faintly felt an unfamiliar feeling of power radiating nearby, however, she was never given the chance to distinguish from where it came.

The world around her exploded in crimson light.

* * *

While having only lasted seconds, Naruto's head was sent throbbing in mild pain from the intensity of the yoki suddenly released. His close proximity to the source did nothing to help prepare himself. In the safety of his mind he also had to admit that he was impressed. The stories of vampires and the power they possess were truly no lie. To add to this, he also had to remind himself that the monster before him was only a youngling. The implication of the power an elder of her race must hold was staggering.

Despite already seeing her in her true form once before; Naruto was still somewhat awed by the vision before him. The long silver hair, blood red eyes, and the overall form of her body was a work of art. There was only one real problem…

_She's also a bitch…_

Scowling, the blond haired teen made sure to keep that thought to himself. He was sure that the alternate Moka before him would not appreciate his opinion of her. She had a temper, which he learned from the first time meeting her, and a tendency to react rather violently to anything she did not consider the utmost of respect. She couldn't even take a joke!

Thought's turning to other matters; Naruto was also still partially stunned that his rushed and cobbled together semi-plan actually worked. It just went to show that a bit of raw power could overcome any situation.

_I only hope I didn't damage the rosary too bad…_

Hesitantly looking down at his hand, he cringed seeing that the metal cross did indeed not survive the experience unscathed. All along the bottom edge that he was holding was scorched with a mild red hue and showed signs of where his fingers had been due to the slight indentations it now possessed.

_Oops…_

Looking back up at the silver haired vampire, he hoped the rosary's damage didn't hurt its ability to separate Moka from her more…aggressive personality traits. He could only image how Moka's inner-self would react if she was forced to become her outer-self full-time. That would definitely not be pleasant for him.

"So little succubus," the vamperic Moka finally spoke, her voice calm though noticeably laced with power, "you are the cause for the disturbance from my slumber? You are the one who has the audacity to attack my alternate self and what she considers hers?"

Though still reeling from the onslaught of the sudden wave of intense demonic energy released, Kurumu was still able to gather her wits about her as she hovered high overhead, if by nothing else than sheer stubbornness alone.

"Of course I am!" she declared. "And I don't care what form you take, there's no way I can lose to an elitist bitch like you! Us succubi seek a 'destined encounter' among the men we tempt! In order to keep our small species from dying out, we must carefully pick just one man from out of many to be our destined one! You got in the way of that Akashiya Moka! I can't let you get away with that no matter what!"

"So what are you going to do?" the vampiress asked derisively as she peered up at the hovering woman. "You can't let me do this, so you bare your fangs at the likes of me?"

Kurumu had enough of being talked down on. Resuming her assault, she dived down to attack in an anger induced vengeance. Any thoughts of weariness were completely brushed aside. She didn't care if this creature was a vampire or not!

"Frail egotistical woman…" Moka murmured as her eyes remained locked on her incoming opponent.

Then, faster than even Naruto could keep up with, Moka turned to the side, reached out, grabbed the jetting succubus by the tail just as she came within arms length, and then proceeded to whip the astonished girl around before releasing her with such force that she sent her careening into the nearby woods, subsequently smashing through a multitude of different trees.

"Know your place!"

* * *

Leaning against the last tree she had ended up slamming against, Kurumu fell on the ground utterly broken. Not only was she beaten physically, but emotionally as well. Her entire body ached in pain.

_I never even stood a chance against her,_ she thought dejectedly. _She cast me to the side like I was nothing to her…_

The now clear understanding of just how weak she was in comparison hurt more than any physical blow could ever hope to. She had lost utterly.

As soon as the battered succubus acknowledged this fact, that was when _she_ appeared.

It was terrifying. Kurumu could not hold back the fear as she watched the silver haired vampire walking towards her. She could clearly see the malevolent red aura of power glowing around her. How had she ever hoped to win against something like that? It was impossible.

"You truly are an especially unpleasant sight," the vamperic Moka spoke with disdain. "For your impertinence, I am going to snap those wings and tail so that you _never_ fly again."

"N-no…" Kurumu whimpered. "Not that, please forgive me," she begged.

Closing her eyes in misery, the beaten teen could feel the tears flowing down her face. She couldn't bear the thought of losing her wings and tail. The terror that gripped her heart was too much!

However, as she reopened her watery violet orbs, she was met with the sight of the back of a very familiar boy with wild blond hair.

"What do you thing you're doing?" Moka accused Naruto in a cold dispassionate voice. He was blocking her path from enacting vengeance on the pitiful monster behind him. "Move. Not only did this girl trick you, she almost killed you even after my more innocent self warned you of her. She must be made to pay for her disrespect."

Naruto simply folded his arms in front of his chest and refused to step aside.

"I'm sorry, but I can't bring myself to do that," he told her apologetically. "What you have done is enough. This girl is clearly defeated. There is no more reason to do anything further. It's finished."

The powerful Vampire before him peered down at him with a piercing gaze.

"And why should I do what you say?" She asked threateningly. "Why should I let this weak girl go so lightly?"

Naruto smiled softly. "Because Kurumu-san never had any truly malicious intentions. She was merely hurt by what she thought was me doing her wrong and was acting out on those feelings. This is all equally my fault for letting our little game get as far as it did. I should have put a stop to it much sooner."

"Is that so?" she asked, not sounding entirely believing.

"Ya it is," he confirmed with a confident nod of the head. "I believe that she is actually not a bad girl at all. I know that we can get along if given the chance! Besides…" Grinning his most cheesy grin, Naruto struck a pose very reminiscent of an old perverted sensei he once had. "No woman can resist the manliness that is Namikaze Naruto! She can not be held responsible for being driven to such actions in the pursuit of my overwhelming self!"

Both Moka and Kurumu simply stared at the ridiculous blonde teen, unable to tell if he was actually being serious. Moka eventually just settled on writing him off as the idiot he was.

"Hmpf," she huffed. "As you wish. Just understand that the only reason I helped you was because I don't want anyone else to take away your blood from me. I'm not like that other sentimental Moka. Now give me back my rosary."

Seeing her outstretched hand in wait, Naruto's eyes bulged. He gulped nervously at the reminder of the silver cross.

"Um, about that…"

Moka's eyes narrowed. "What is it?

The former shinobi chuckled uneasily. "Well, know how I was having trouble getting it to release at first? I kinda had to go a little extreme to do so in the end and your rosary didn't exactly escape the experience perfectly."

"What did you do to it," she growled dangerously, taking a menacing step forward.

"N-nothing! I swear! It's just a little cosmetic damage is all…" Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the slightly damaged cross and handed it over. "See? It's fine."

Snatching the thing out of his hands, the silver haired vampire's eyebrow began to twitch at the sight of the singed and slightly warped metal.

"Naarrruuutooo…"

"Yes?" he squeaked.

Not wasting a beat, Moka lashed out with her foot and kicked him square in the face.

However, both she and Kurumu were equally surprised to see him merely disappear in a puff of smoke.

An amused chortle was heard behind Moka as she stared at the whiffs of smoke in confusion.

"Sorry babe, but that wasn't the real me." Just to egg her on further, Naruto gave the vampire a nice slap on the ass.

Moka wheeled around murderously as soon as he did that. The fires of hell were burning furiously in her eyes. With not a word, she cocked back her fist and hit him in the jaw with as much force as her vampire enhanced strength would allow. To her further irritation though, he simply disappeared into a puff of smoke once again.

"Nope, that wasn't the real me either."

He was to her right this time. The glare she fixed him with was smoldering.

"I don't suppose that you would happen to be the real you either, should I?" She asked in a low drawn out voice.

"Nah, that would actually be me," said a voice from behind.

Before she could react, the supposedly real Naruto snatched the cross from back out of her hand, and as soon as she turned to face him, he quickly snapped the rosary back onto her choker. She only had a moment for her eyes to widen in surprise before she felt her consciousness being pulled back inside the artifact.

Not a second later, Naruto was catching the now pink haired Moka in his arms. Just like last time she transformed, she seemed utterly exhausted from the experience.

"Hmm," she breathed, "you're ok?" Leaning against his chest, she peered serenely up into his eyes.

The blonde young man gave her a reassuring smile in response.

"Ya, thanks to you and your other self I am fine. What you did was very brave, but next time please don't put yourself in so much danger just for my sake, ok?

Moka shook her head. "I can't do that, Naruto-kun. What if you are in danger again just like today? I can't stand the thought of you being hurt, or worse…"

Naruto was touched by the emotion behind her words. In his entire life he had only known one other person who seemed to care as much about his safety as her. That man was his father…

Reaching his arms around her, he gave her a soft, gentle hug before finally pushing her back at arms length so that he she could look at him clearly.

"Moka-chan, I am grateful that you care so much about me, you really are a great friend, but believe me when I say that I am more than capable of taking care of myself. You don't need to ever worry about me getting into too much trouble. At least not the life-threatening kind."

"But I do!" she insisted firmly. "It's ok, I finally figured out your secret."

Naruto's eyes widened in shock at that. She what? How did she find out?! Did she step in to stop Kurumu to keep him from having to reveal his true power? It couldn't be…

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," he stuttered.

Moka placed a calming had on his cheek.

"Yes you do," she told him gently. "Kurumu figured it out too. You may be able to fool people's eyes, but not the nose. We could tell by your scent. You're a human."

Pausing for a second, Naruto's panic was suddenly replaced by confusion. He tilted his head to the side and looked at her strangely. Did she just accuse him of being a human?

_Hmm, I've never been mistaken for _that_ before. Well, except for Tou-san…_

Then suddenly it hit him. It was the nature of his body and the seal! While he was in his current form, he technically _was_ human. Until he actually transformed, there was no real way to distinguish him as anything different. Unlike other monsters' disguises, his was no mere illusion.

He couldn't help snickering at her monumental error.

"You," he laughed, "you actually think _I'm _a _human_?" It was too ridiculous for him to stand.

Moka looked at him oddly, taken aback. "Well, ya. Aren't you?"

Naruto didn't even say a word. However, as the Akashiya heiress continued to stare up at him, her entire world was sent spinning.

Now looking back at her were none other than two unmistakable red slitted eyes accompanied by a fang tooth grin.

There was only one thought running through her mind.

_Vampire!_

* * *

**A/N**: Well guys, here it finally is. Let me just tell you that the creation process for this chapter was a bitch. Everything was going fine until I got to the fight scene between Naruto and Kurumu. I didn't want it to be an actual fight, since I still wanted Moka to come in and put a stop to Kurumu, but I just couldn't get it to read smoothly. I'm still not sure if I succeeded. I am not even sure if I am happy with the entire second half of the chapter. The first half came smoothly, but I had to work for the second. Also, the second half was riddled with me writing sporadically and stopping for days at a time, while the first half was practically written in one sitting. Another problem I had was deciding on the character interaction dynamic between Naruto and Kurumu since both characters are so much alike. Both are very flirtatious people, but I didn't want their interaction to degenerate into them having sex. I don't intend for any sexual relationships to develop for a long time yet. Another thing that caused problems was the simple fact that I was introducing another important secondary character this chapter. I had to worry a lot about setting up Kurumu's character. Also, to forestall any declarations by the less perceptive of you readers, no, Naruto is not actually a Vampire. I am intentionally keeping Moka guessing about what Naruto really is.

**A/N-2**: For those of you disappointed in the lack of Tsukune in this chapter I am sorry, but he wasn't meant to play much of a role in the introduction of Kurumu. He will have his own major show-time during the introductions of Yukari, Ruby, and Mizore. I will be taking a break next chapter from introducing anyone new and you will see a balance of screen time between Naruto and Tsukune. Both characters are meant to be the primary protagonists for this story, but I only listed Naruto in the character list the story is filed under because I didn't want anyone to mistake this story for slash by just looking at the summary. Should I go ahead and add Tsukune in the character list or leave it simply with Naruto? Also, I plan on building up Tsukune's character gradually throughout the story. He will not be staying as weak as he is right now. Give it time.

**A/N-3**: I have received a few reviews commenting on the lack of Jutsu Naruto is using, but there is a very good reason for that. I was planning to wait till chapter 3 to explain why that is, but I will give a quick summary now so that people will quit bugging me about it. To put it simply, Shinobi are normal humans who just happen to be capable of utilizing an internal power source, chakra, that is slightly similar to the magic witches use. Monsters on the other hand utilize yoki (aka demonic energy). Yoki is much more potent and strong than what chakra is. Because of this fact, many of Naruto's offensive jutsu (even his most powerful) wouldn't pack much of a punch if he is powering them with just his chakra. Even any genjutsu he knows would be nullified by the yoki inherently inside monsters. Think of things this way: A shinobi reinforced with chakra would hardly be hurt by a normal human punching them because a shinobi's chakra makes them naturally more durable. The same concept applies to monsters. A monster's yoki makes them inherently more durable against any chakra powered attacks Naruto could hit them with. The only kind of jutsu that are actually of help to Naruto are ones that are not directly offensive or defensive. Things like Kage Bushin and Kawarmi are the only things worth wasting energy on. Besides that, Naruto is better off conserving his chakra to help enhance his strength and speed. I hope that clears things up a bit.

As for what to expect next chapter, let's just say Naruto loves girls in bikinis.


End file.
